The Conduit War: The Spark
by Ciaus Falkreath
Summary: Sequel to "From the Ashes" - Celia kidnapped Ashton and Sebastian. The government is slowly moving towards a war on conduit-kind. Now, it's up to Delsin, Fetch, Eugene, and the others to find the missing conduits as well as protect their namesake as conduits.
1. PROLOGUE

Deep in the heart of a secret NSA facility, Brooke Augustine sat prisoner. With her hands bound in power-dampening restraints, and her cell on constant alert, she was completely isolated from the outside world. She never made a sound, never retaliated. She accepted her defeat, and her fate. However, with her defeat, she knew exactly what was going to happen next. She had failed. She failed to protect the conduits from the government. She had failed in preventing the war that would inevitably ensue.

She sat quietly as she always did. Her cylindrical cell was constructed using bullet-proof glass and had a catwalk that encircled the perimeter. It was made specifically for people like her. That's why she was startled when she heard large thuds from all sides of her cell. She looked up to see all six guards slump to the ground. She then stood up to examine one of them. His throat had been slit. It's deep but clean cut was too thin to have been made by a knife. That's when she noticed a fluttering red object falling towards her.

It fell onto the cell window and stuck there, the wet blood keeping it in place. What concerned her more however, was the fact that the object in question was a piece of paper. It slid down the glass, leaving a bloody trail behind it. It was then that she heard footsteps on the catwalk behind her. She turned around and her suspicions came true. In front of her, stood the very first prisoner of Curdun Cay.

"Celia?" Augustine muttered.

"It's good to see you, all locked up like this… it suits you," she taunted.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm here to prove I'm stronger than Delsin."

"Delsin? Did you kill him?"

"No, not yet anyways."

"You shouldn't be here. It won't be long before the alarms are triggered," she warned.

"I wouldn't worry about that. The cameras are on a loop," she explained, "I've been thinking about this for a while."

"You need to leave."

"No… you need to listen. After everything we've been through, you threw me away."

"I was protecting you!"

"No! You lied to me, locked me up! You… you said you cared about me…"

"And it's true! I didn't lock you up, I kept you safe. I let you go."

"You turned me into a weapon," she said coldly, "a monster."

"We're all monsters Celia, I just helped you control it. I saw your potential and I wanted you to reach it."

Celia chuckled before opening her hand and sliding a piece of paper in between the doors of her cell.

"You said I could be the strongest conduit if I wanted to be," she said as the paper fell to the ground.

"And I meant it; stronger than me, stronger than Delsin, anyone."

"Then I need to prove it," Celia said softly while the paper folded itself up into a dove and flew to eye level with Augustine.

"Your powers have gotten stronger," Augustine awed.

"I should've done this a long time ago, but I wasn't strong enough."

"Celia…"

"I'm going to be the strongest conduit ever. I'll be stronger than John, Cole… Delsin."

"Celia, listen to me… don't do this."

"Good bye… Brooke," she spoke softly before waving her hand, causing the dove to stiffen and fly towards Augustine's neck. The resulting collision decapitated her, killing her instantly. The dove, coated in Augustine's blood, glued itself to the window on the opposite side.

"Delsin may not have been strong enough to kill you, but I am."


	2. CHAPTER 1 - Firestorm

Six Months Later

"I've got eyes on the target," TJ spoke over a comms device.

"Good, everyone in position?" Bentley asked.

"I don't understand why this secrecy is necessary," Fetch replied, "We have more than enough firepower to take these guys down."

"Every attack that goes public forces the government one step closer to calling us bio-terrorists again," Bentley explained, "We have to be quiet about this."

"Don't worry Fetch, just as long as everyone sticks to the plan we'll be fine," TJ assured.

"You're one to talk," she quipped.

"It's a wonder we get anything done," Delsin spoke.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion," she snapped quietly.

"The target's moving," TJ announced over the comms.

For the past six months, after Ashton and Sebastian were kidnapped, Delsin, Fetch, and TJ have been chasing down clues as to their whereabouts. They were finally able to track them down to a warehouse in the middle of the Montana wilderness. However, it was hard for Delsin to concentrate on the task at hand, as something else was always on his mind.

"Think we'll find Celia?" he asked Fetch, as the two stood next to each other against a tree.

"I hope so. I'd love to give that bitch a piece a piece of my mind," Fetch responded.

"Hey, what's with you tonight?" he asked.

"How long are we gonna' keep doing this D? This isn't our fight anymore."

"Isn't our fight?" Delsin repeated questioningly.

"We already won our fight. Augustine's gone."

"Yeah, she's gone… killed by a conduit who managed to infiltrate a secret government prison. Celia's giving conduits a bad name. It's up to us to fix that," Delsin argued.

"I'm just tired of doing this. I need some time off… we need some time off."

"Oh?" Delsin asked with a smile.

"Every time we see each other it's when we're on a mission or doing some other crap."

"Well… when we're done with this, I'll think of something we can do," Delsin promised.

"Oh, I know exactly what we're gonna' do," Fetch said sensually while leaning in for a kiss.

"Uh… you _do_ know we can hear you guys, right?" TJ spoke through Delsin's earpiece, causing Fetch to halt her advance.

"Way to kill the moment TJ," Delsin spoke, annoyed.

"You're welcome, the target's heading towards you," TJ informed. Sighing, Delsin looked at Fetch who rolled her eyes at him. Seconds later, five vehicles could be heard driving down the road they stood beside: one small semi-truck with a trailer was led and followed by an armored jeep and an APC. The two conduits spaced themselves out according to their plan and waited for the convoy to get into position.

However, ignoring the plan, Fetch shot two missiles at the front APC, causing it to explode. The resulting wreckage blocked the rest of the convoy from advancing. Men started piling out of the remaining APC as the turret started firing in her direction. She dashed out of the way of its fire and Delsin began blasting the armored vehicle to get its attention. Fetch then jumped into the air towards the APC and shot a neon blast at the turret, destroying it. She then landed on top of the vehicle. She cringed as a bullet clipped her shoulder. She turned and was faced with a small group of mercenaries. She released a blast of neon energy that pushed the men back. Behind her, Delsin destroyed both jeeps while also incapacitating the drivers. As the mercenaries got back up, they were greeted by a barrage of glass shards that impaled their back. They all slumped to the ground, dead.

"You were supposed to stick to the plan!" TJ snapped.

"Me?! What about you? We're supposed to keep casualties to a minimum," she snapped back.

"Says the one who went trigger-happy," he retaliated.

"Guys, let's just open her up," Delsin pleaded.

They both sighed and TJ approached the truck.

"I hope this is it," Fetch muttered.

"Ashton?" TJ called as he opened the back of the truck. As soon as the door was opened, TJ was greeted by a large object hitting him in the chest and pushing him back. The object then retracted, and two figures dressed in sleek black armor jumped out. Behind them, two large crates stood vibrating. The two figures held out their hands and the crates burst open, revealing an equally large pile of small black beads flying around and attaching themselves to the two figures.

"That's new!" Delsin called out as he shot a cinder missile at the left-most mercenary. He held his arm out as if holding a shield and the beads flew out to form a barrier in front of him. When the missile impacted the barrier, it shattered and the beads scattered about them. However, seconds later, they reformed around the man's body, adding to the armor that was already present. They then charged at the conduits and Fetched quickly dashed forward to release a neon blast. However, they both pushed their hands towards the ground and the small beads gathered under their feet and propelled them into the air, dodging her blast.

"Bentley? You seeing this?" TJ asked as he stood back up to join the battle.

"I don't get it; our intel was solid. Ashton and Sebastian should've been in there," he tried reasoning.

"Well, clearly they were expecting us," Fetch added while swinging at one of the conduits with a neon cloaked fist, only to have it be blocked by his shield, which he then pushed back, knocking her off balance.

"Not gonna' lie," Delsin butted in, "An orbital strike could finish this."

"We can't, we'll be found!"

"If we haven't been already," TJ suggested while throwing glass shards at their opponents, each one bouncing off their armor. Similar to before, one held his fist in the air and the small beads formed a large fist that swung towards TJ. He managed to bring up a glass shield just before the impact, causing both forces to shatter. In that brief second, Delsin whaled the attacker with his chain, the impact causing him to lose his balance.

Just a few feet away, Fetch was alone in attacking the other. He cloaked both of his fists in the mysterious beads and swung for Fetch. The mobility showed that the beads were relatively light, and yet, they still managed to hit with force. Each swing was met by Fetch's cloaked hands. Each swing broke off some of the beads and they fell to the ground, singed. Fetch noticed this and came up with an idea.

"D! Follow my lead!" she called out. He nodded in understanding. Fetch then shifted the battle back towards the opening in the truck. Delsin and TJ did the same, forcing their attacker right next to Fetch's. Once they were close enough, she launched another neon blast, forcing all the remaining beads into the truck.

"Shoot the truck!" she shouted. Delsin released a cinder missile into the back of the truck, destroying both the vehicle and the attackers' weapons. The force blew everyone back. The three conduits were able to shake it off easily enough, but the two attacker's weren't as lucky. Fetch went over to look at them, their pitch-black armor seemed almost blacker from the explosion.

"Are they dead?" Delsin asked. No sooner had he said that, then the sound of a helicopter echoed from above.

"Let's not stick around to find out," TJ said just before running off into the wilderness. Delsin quickly followed him. Fetch turned to do the same but stopped when she noticed some intact beads lying next to them. She leaned down to pick them up and noticed something even more interesting, there was writing on the shoulder: "Firestorm" could be read on one and "Bertrand" could be read on the other. The name "Bertrand" wasn't familiar to her, but "Firestorm" she _had_ heard before, though she didn't remember where. She ran to catch up with the others. A few meters away, they arrived at a mobile command center.

"What happened out there Fetch? You're usually more collected than this," Bentley noticed.

"They were waiting for us. Why were they waiting for us?" she asked as a response.

"I don't know, but we need to get out of here," he said before motioning towards the driver, "Let's go!" Hooked up to a truck, the command center fled the scene and headed back towards their new base of operations. Fetch also gave the beads she found the Bentley.

"These are what they used." Bentley looked at them intrinsically.

"I'll see what I can find."


	3. CHAPTER 2 - A Time for Change

It was the middle of the day and yet, the city was as dead as ever. Behind him, the biggest DUP force he had ever faced was following. He ran and ran until two helicopters flew into view just in front of him. He shot a molten lava ball at one and it collided into the other, causing both to explode and fall towards him. He picked up the pace and slid underneath the wreckage. He took a second to stop and catch his breath. As he did so, the APCs and armored cars caught up and began firing upon the conduit.

He ducked into a vacant building as bullets flew around him. Through the windows, he tossed several molten grenades into the group, causing a chained explosion. He was then greeted by several missiles heading in his general direction. One by one they hit the building, each strike deteriorating the building's structure. The building began collapsing as he climbed up it, when he got to the third floor, he shot a lava ball at the wall, causing the impacted area to melt away. He jumped out and hovered onto the ground, where he was greeted by a large group of DUP soldiers, their guns trained on him. He brought up several pillars of lava in front of him and the soldiers opened fire.

However, the molten pillars served as a barrier and protected him as he pushed it forward. The pillars grew wider and encompassed the entire group of soldiers, leaving nothing left. The buildings and empty vehicles behind the group were completing disintegrated as well. When the veritable wave hit a gas station shortly afterward, the nearby area was completely engulfed in flames. He sighed and then smiled.

Suddenly, the world around him began to pixilate and brighten. Seconds later, he found himself in a poorly lit room surrounded by various cameras and sensors as if he just materialized. He looked over at the conduit running the equipment.

"How was that?" he asked.

"P-Pretty good, Troy," Eugene stuttered, "I do have a few notes though."

"Notes?" he questioned.

"Y-yeah… you seem to be a little uh… overzealous?"

"But we're conduits, being all-powerful is kinda' our thing," he argued.

"Yeah but… we don't want to hurt others."

Troy sighed.

"Well… I guess I'll… try tomorrow then," Troy stated before walking away. When he was gone, Eugene took the time to reset the simulation on his machine and transfer the results onto a thumb drive. He then stepped out of the room and walked down the hall of their new base. It was considerably smaller than their previous one, and much easier to navigate.

Eugene oversaw training. At first glance, Eugene's reserved demeanor didn't seem appropriate for teaching. However, he was slowly working on specific conduit-related mission scenarios in the same machine he was using when he first met Delsin. The data he learned was then used to further hone each conduit's skills. Seeing as how intensive the process was, Eugene was almost never in the field and instead devoted his time to helping the other conduits become mission-ready. Troy's trial was the last for the day and he had to deliver his daily report to Alex, Sam's sister. He walked into her office and she looked up and sighed.

"Anything interesting?" she asked, taking the thumb drive.

"Looks like Charlie might be ready for his next exam," he noted.

"What about Troy?" she asked.

"Nothing new," he said with a sigh. She shook her head while plugging the drive into her computer.

"We need him out in the field. His powers are wasted in here. If only he showed more control," she commented.

"That's an understatement, he's starting the wear me down with the number of agents I have to create for him."

"Well get some rest, I'll look over the footage. I'll let you know if I have any questions."

Eugene nodded and left the room. He walked down the narrow hallway towards the rec room. When he walked in, he was greeted by another conduit.

"Hey, Eugene."

"Oh… hi, Kat," he spoke out of surprise, not seeing her on the couch in front of the TV.

"How did the testing go?" she asked.

"Oh… same old same old," he said while staring at a reporter on the television, "Another one?"

"Yeah," she said with a sigh, "Anti-conduit supporter was murdered."

"I guess that means they haven't found her yet," Eugene assumed.

"Sure seems that way. Any idea on when they're getting back?" she asked.

"No… but uh… Delsin, Fetch, and TJ are supposed to be back soon."

"And hopefully with Ash and Sebastian," she added.

A few hours later, when Alex finished going through the footage she was given, she took it to Director Davis' office for examination.

"Come in," he called out when Alex knocked on the door. She walked in confidently with a small stack of papers in her hands.

"Cooper, what did you find?" he asked as she handed him the papers.

"Mark Blade and Charlie Patch are ready for their next exams. Naomi Stung passed her first exam with flying colors… and Troy—"

"I said no," he interrupted while rolling out from behind his desk towards a drawer on the opposite side of the room.

"But sir, we could use that kind of firepower in the field," she pleaded.

"Not until he can show more restraint," he said while pulling a folder out of the filing cabinet.

"You think all the others show restraint? They don't have nearly the same firepower Troy does. He can go for hours without having to recharge his powers. We need that."

"Yes, just not now. We're in hot water as it is after breaking these conduits out of a high-securi—"

He was immediately interrupted by a violent coughing that pursued for several seconds. When it finished, he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it to his face.

"Are you okay sir?" Alex asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," he replied with an irritated throat, "Just a change in weather is all."

The two headed back towards the director's desk and Davis pulled out the contents of the folder he extracted: previous reports of the conduits' examinations and training.

"At least look at today's training footage," she pleaded while handing him the flash drive Eugene gave her.

"I'll look at it, but my position still stands," he said while taking the drive.

"Very well sir, if there isn't anything else you need, I'll see myself out."

"Have a good evening Ms. Cooper," he told her as she left his office.

The next morning, Delsin's team arrived at the refuge. Alex and Eugene were the first to greet them personally. However, their smiles disappeared when then noticed a lack of faces with the group.

"Where's Ashton and Sebastian?" Alex asked.

"It was a setup. They were expecting us," Fetch explained.

"And they have a new weapon," Bentley added while holding an open hand to display one of the recovered beads.

"What is this?" she asked while examining the foreign object.

"I'll explain when Sam gets back, any word from him?"

"He should be back later today," Alex answered. The group then left the hanger and proceeded to follow Alex to her office. Recently, it had turned into the major hub for their activities. Since Celia's attack, many of the conduits lost faith in The First Sons and demanded they get taken home. Knowing they weren't kept here against their will, they were forced to oblige. This exodus led to a massive deficiency in time and resources. Now, the remaining conduits are trained and sent on missions to track down conduits in trouble, including Ashton and Sebastian. When Delsin, Fetch, and TJ gave their reports, they left the office with Eugene.

"So… no Ash and Sebastian yet?" Eugene clarified.

"No," Delsin said with a sigh, "Not yet."

"We're wasting our time here, we need to find them," TJ spoke angrily.

"You know it takes time for Bentley to find them with the tracker, just be patient," Fetch pleaded.

"Patient?! You wanna' talk patient?" he snapped while turning to face Fetch.

"I did what I had to," she replied.

"No, you did what you want to!"

"Guys!" Delsin butted in, "Knock it off!"

"Hmpf!" he slowly back away from them. "You need to keep her on a tighter leash," he said while walking away from the trio. Fetch immediately stomped after him. However Delsin stopped her before she could take a step.

"Come on, let's go find Ryan," Delsin urged, "He said he got a new power remember?" Fetch took a second to breathe and compose herself. Once she felt ready, the trio headed over to the breakroom. There, Ryan sat on the couch while watching TV. When the three of them walked in, Ryan turned his head and stood up to greet his friends.

"Delsin! Any luck with the power twins?" he asked.

"No… it was a dead-end," he answered.

"Damn it… I'm sorry to hear about that. We'll find them."

"I know we will… In the meantime, I heard you got a new power?"

"Oh yeah! Check this out!" he said excitedly while running over to the cupboard. He grabbed a small grab of chips with one hand and closed his other. When he opened it, a bluish-white orb materialized in his hand. When his hand was extended completely, the orb was about the size of a baseball.

"You might want to stand back for this," he warned them. He then looked over at the couch and gently tossed the glowing orb onto the couch. When it impacted the surface, the orb transformed into a large translucent sphere that encompassed the couch as well as the part of the rug that the couch rested on.

"What the hell?" Fetch awed.

"That's not even the best part," he said with a smile. Ryan then tossed the bag of chips into the sphere. As soon as it entered the sphere, its velocity slowed down significantly. It was as if the bag was in slow motion.

"I call it a time bomb," he said proudly.

"Time?" Fetch repeated.

"That's correct," spoke a voice in the doorway. Zeke stood behind Delsin, Fetch, and Eugene.

"Turns out, Ryan here can manipulate time. Whenever he teleports, it's just him moving faster than we can see."

"So… does that mean you can travel through time too?" Delsin asked.

"Not yet," Ryan said with a smile on his face.

"How did you get your new power?" Fetch asked.

"Yeah, why don't you tell them what you did?" Zeke said condescendingly.

"I uh… _went_ into storage and… _found_ a blast core," he explained.

"I thought only Delsin can use those…" Fetch recalled.

"Only Delsin can _drain_ them. But, Cole used them by passing a current through it. So I… _found_ … a Taser and zapped the blast core."

"Yeah, and caused a real ruckus while doing it, nearly put the whole base in lockdown!" Zeke added.

"But we're fine, nothing happened, besides getting a new power of course." As their conversation ended, the bluish orb slowly faded away into nothingness, leaving time in that spot the same it was previously.

"Well, I suppose I should uh… get back to work…" Eugene said as he made his way past Zeke, "It was nice seeing you two again."

"Nice seeing you too, Eugene" Fetch replied.

"Yeah, you playing DnD later?" Delsin teased.

Eugene chuckled at the comment before leaving.

"So, I heard you guys didn't have any luck with our missing friends?"

"Not yet. And I thought this was going to be our big break too," Delsin confirmed.

"Well, if there's anyone that can find them, it's you too," Zeke commented.

"Oh, we will," Fetch replied cockily.

"How's Cole doing?" Delsin asked.

"Why don't you come see for yourself?"


	4. CHAPTER 3 - Armed and Dangerous

Delsin and Fetch followed Zeke to the bunks where Cole rested. They knocked on his door and a few seconds later, the rustled conduit answered.

"Delsin, Fetch, it's good to see you two back. Come on in"

"Nice to see you're doing better," Fetch returned.

"Yeah well… I need a helping hand every now and then," he said while waving what remained of his right arm, "but other than that, I'm fine."

The two younger conduits couldn't help but smirk at his comment.

"How are you adjusting?" Delsin asked.

"To the new place? I've dealt with worse. What about you? You're always busy it seems."

"Still haven't found our friends," Delsin replied.

"You will… just make sure not to die while doing it. Being a hero has its price after all."

"I know."

Suddenly, an alarm went off from his clock, eliciting a sigh from Cole.

"That's the alarm for my checkup. I'm supposed to head over to the medical ward," he explained.

"We won't keep you then," Fetch replied while walking back out of the room with the others following.

"I'll head over with you," Zeke told Cole, "I'll catch ya' guys later."

As the two veterans went to the medical center, Delsin and Fetch decided to head back to the rec room and wait for Sam to arrive. Ryan had disappeared when they got there, meaning they had the room to themselves. They sat on the couch and Fetch sighed.

"You never answered my question."

"What question?" Delsin asked.

"When are we gonna' stop?" she repeated while looking directly at him.

"When we're done," he answered nonchalantly.

"No, I'm serious."

"So am I. Lives are at stake here: mine, yours, Eugene's, Ash's and Sebastian's. We have to do this."

"What if we didn't? Look at all the other conduits who left and are in hiding."

"All the more reason to help."

"You've done more than your fair share, D. I know it, you know it, even Cole knows it. You keep taking on these missions. It's time for a break."

"A break?"

"Yeah, just to give us a chance to unwind."

"We _need_ to find Ash and Sebastian."

" _Then_ we stop, at least for a little bit."

Delsin took a second to look into Fetch's pleading eyes.

"Guys!" Eugene shouted from around a corner as he came into view of the two conduits,

"Sam's here."

All three of them hurried to the hanger. Just as they got there, they met Sam, Sarah, and a few other conduits all with defeated expressions.

"Any luck?" Delsin asked.

"None," Sam answered.

"Girl's a ghost," Sarah added.

"How about you?"

"We walked right into a trap," Fetch explained.

"Damn it," Sam muttered, "We're just going around in circles."

"Sam!" Bentley called out as he ran towards the group.

"Bentley!"

"How's the new suit working?"

Delsin and the others were so preoccupied with wondering how his mission went, that they didn't bother to notice Sam's attire. He had ditched his traditional DUP riot armor for a sleeker suit. The armor was primarily metallic and was designed by the DUP to serve as combat armor for special agents. However, each wrist was fitted with a submachine gun built into the armor as well as miniature jets that Sam could use for pseudo-flight. A small metal riot shield rested comfortably on his back and a steel chain, Delsin's preference, was wrapped around his torso.

"I'm sure it would work just fine if it saw some action."

"I see, so you weren't ambushed like we were?" Bentley clarified.

"No… why, what happened?"

"I need to show you something."

"Alright," Sam said before looking towards his team, "Submit your reports and await my instructions."

They all nodded in understanding before breaking of from Sam who followed Bentley into a large room that had been turned into a lab. Delsin, Fetch, and Eugene followed close behind. Alex stood waiting and sighed when she saw Sam.

"Alright Bentley, we're all here. What is it you wanted to show us?" she asked.

"This," Bentley answered while putting the bead under a telescope. A nearby projector lit up with a blown-up image of the small sphere. Looking at it, Sam noticed the texture and immediately recognized the material.

"Carbon fiber."

"Correct. When we were ambushed, our attackers were using this to create different shapes and weapons."

"So, it's some sort of carbon fiber conduit?" Eugene asked.

"That's what I thought at first too. However, when opening one of them up," he started while removing the bead from the microscope and replacing it with a small microchip, held with tweezers, "I found this."

"What is it?" Fetch asked.

"This model of integrated circuit is fitted with a directional electro-magnet. This is the nature of Project Firestorm."

Sam and Alex immediately traded glances with each other.

"The NSA attacked you?" Sam asked out of disbelief.

"No… the name on the suit was Bertrand."

"But… that's impossible."

"I know what I saw," Fetch snapped.

"But, Bertrand's dead. Cole killed him."

" _Joseph_ Bertrand is dead," Bentley corrected, "However… he has a daughter. When he passed away, Penelope Bertrand took ownership of his company, inheriting all of his assets."

"How do you know this?" Delsin asked.

"I worked with both of them on the Ray Sphere project. Bertrand was trying to gain complete control over the First Sons."

"He was trying to kiss up to Kessler during the revolt, promising that he wouldn't leave his side," Alex added.

"And he never did. He stayed with Kessler and funded his projects, even after the Blast. And when Kessler died, the company was split into two. One section under Bertrand's leadership, and the other under Davis'."

"Bertrand focused on the military side of conduits. He learned how to train and weaponized them, while we spent our time researching and protecting them," Alex continued.

"So there's a… good and a bad version of the First Sons?" Eugene asked.

"You can think of it like that, sure. Just remember which is which," Alex commented.

"You think Penelope was the one Callot mentioned?" Sam asked.

"Quite possibly… which would mean that The First Sons was heavily involved with the DUP," Bentley inferred.

"That's all well and good but how does that explain the guys that ambushed us?" Fetch asked.

"Penelope either bought or stole the plans to Project Firestorm from someone inside the NSA," Alex interjected.

"What's more important is that they were successful in creating artificial conduits. These beads are magnets. More than likely, their suits were fitted with some interface that allowed them to create different shapes and projectiles," Bentley explained.

"Like a heads-up-display?" Delsin asked.

"More like buttons or accelerometers," Bentley clarified.

"What's our next move then?" Sam asked.

"I'm still trying to track down Ashton and Sebastian's whereabouts, and we'll need to run the tracker after that to find Celia," Bentley listed.

"In the meantime," Alex butted in, "Sam, I still need your report."

"I'll get right on that."

"Everyone else, dismissed."

Delsin and Fetch headed back to their room while Bentley headed to the medical ward. Before they attach Cole's prosthetic, Bentley wanted to run some diagnostics to ensure that it was working properly. When he arrived, he was greeted by Cole on a stretcher, where a nurse was just finishing attaching a metal cap to his amputated arm.

"Is that too tight?" he asked.

"A little cold, but not bad," he answered.

"How long is this supposed to take?" Zeke asked, standing by his best friend.

"Not long at all," Bentley replied while opening a crate and pulling out a metal prosthetic. He then plugged in various wires and cords into the base of the arm and attached those to a nearby computer. He opened up a computer program and began his testing. He started by applying an electrical current to each individual finger. He then applied current to a multitude at once to create different hand gestures. It was created to utilize Cole's powers to manipulate the hand as if it were his own: a project drawing inspiration from Kessler's arm. When Bentley's tests were complete, he unplugged the arm from the computer and brought it over to Cole who outstretched his arm.

Upon further inspection of the metal cap, many small holes could be found, each about a tenth of a millimeter apart. Along the outside of the cap, was a mechanism that allowed the unit to lock into place. Bentley slid the arm onto the cap and twisted it into place. He then fiddled with some small knobs and locks on the arm itself to ensure it didn't move. Once secure, Bentley held is finger just above the final switch and looked at Cole.

"Not gonna' lie, this'll sting a little," he warned before pressing the switch. Cole winced and grunted as needles ejected from the prosthetic into the metal plate and into his real arm. As it did, the prosthetic sparked and the fingers shook violently. When the pain subsided, Cole moved his hand and examined it. He was awe-struck as he felt each individual joint, from the wrist to knuckles. He clenched it into a fist and then relaxed his hand.

"Well… I'll be damned," Zeke awed.

"Try using your powers," Bentley instructed.

Cole closed his fist and slowly opened it again, creating sparks that snaked along and in between his fingers.

"You're a goddamned miracle worker Bentley," Zeke praised.

"Thank Kessler, it's based off some plans we pulled out of the archives for his prosthetic."

Moments later, Ryan joined the group, his jaw dropping when he saw Cole generating electricity from his prosthetic arm.

"Well if it ain't the time lord himself," Zeke called out.

"What?" Bentley asked.

"My power, turns out it's time manipulation," Ryan explained.

"Really?"

He created a time bomb and threw it into the hallway just outside the room they were in. He then picked up a pencil and tossed it into the glowing sphere it created. Bentley was shocked as the pencil fell to the ground much more slowly than it should have.

Bentley suddenly had an anxiety he couldn't explain. He looked at Ryan and then at Cole who, at first glance, could have been confused with Kessler. Slowly a thought formed inside his head, and then it hit him.

"I need you two in the field."


	5. CHAPTER 4 - Road to Redemption

When she opened her eyes, she found herself against the wall of Curdun Cay. The massive complex stood before her upon the snowy landscape. However, she wasn't cold. Even with her lack of winter clothing. Looking up at the compound brought her a different coldness. She had never been imprisoned herself, but she was close.

"Alright, Eugene, what's my test today?"

"We need you to infiltrate Curdun Cay," he spoke behind her, causing her to turn around.

"Without being seen?" she asked.

"Well, you'll be shot if you're seen so… yeah, preferably."

"Alright then," she replied while turning around, "I guess I'm ready when you are."

Eugene then fizzled out of existence and her test began. Several DUP guards materialized throughout the complex, one of them being on the catwalk of the wall she stood beside. She looked up and had a clear view of the soldier. She flexed her hand and tossed a misty red bolt toward the guard. Unaware of the attack, the guard continued his duty looking out into the mountainous landscape. Jessica continued.

She had gotten to the main entrance a few meters away and listened. She heard two guards at the open gates. She then turned to face the first guard. With her fist glowing, she closed it and the guard fell flat on his back asleep. The two guards turned towards the commotion and Jessica pressed forward. She got to the two guards and placed a hand on the backs of each of their heads. A faint red mist left her hands before she retracted them. They immediately turned around with weapons drawn. However, they saw nothing. Jessica had rendered herself invisible to the two guards. They then looked at each other, thinking that the one tapped the other, before rushing up to the catwalk.

Jessica then snuck along the edge of the wall towards the main building. She didn't get very far until its next challenge presented itself. A guard appeared from behind a corner and looked towards her. In a panic, she threw a red beam at the guard, the force caused him to stumble and drop his weapon. Feeling low on energy, she ran up to him and put her hand to his forehead. For a few seconds, he struggled to pry her hand away, only to slump to the ground unconscious, his mental energy drained. She once again felt energized.

It was in sight. The main compound was a short sprint away. However, the main doors were locked, protected by a basic keypad. She stepped aside and watched as one guard approached the door. This was her chance.

Charging up her ability, she projected a snaking red trail towards the unsuspecting target. It latched onto his head and Jessica forced her eyes closed. When she opened them, her pupils were bright red, and her vision was not her own. She instead viewed what the agent did, and watched as he put in the code to the door: 03142016. The door slid upwards and the agent walked inside. The door immediately closed behind him. Jessica closed her eyes tight and opened them, restoring her vision.

She took a second to regain her composure, as the feat was an extreme toll on her powers, all the while repeating the number combination in her head. When her head cleared, she checked for any prying eyes before making a dash for the entrance. She quickly typed in the code and ducked inside. The door closed shut behind her. In front of her, she saw a training area.

"Okay… now what?" Jessica asked Eugene.

"You're test isn't over," a female voice called out.

"Augustine? What the hell Eugene? This isn't the test you told me about."

"I've been chasing you for quite some time, young lady."

"Eugene?"

Suddenly, the floor in front of her opened up and Jessica watched as Brooke Augustine emerged from an elevator. When it came to a stop, she stepped off and walked towards the confused conduit.

"Do you seriously expect me to fight her?!" Jessica called out.

"Now, the real test begins."

Augustine drew concrete onto her wrists and she lifted herself off the ground. She then pulled more concrete around her and created a field out of it that encompassed her. She hovered about two feet off the ground and hurled chunks of concrete towards Jessica. She ducked behind cover, barely avoiding the shrapnel. She then revealed herself and tossed a misty red grenade in her direction. It detonated and Augustine was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. When it dissipated, Augustine could be seen struggling to keep herself awake.

Jessica took this time to fire several shots at her, many of them hitting. However, as she damaged her, she woke up. Her target in sight, Augustine launched a barrage of concrete shrapnel at the young conduit. She couldn't dodge as easily this time and she got smacked in the chest, falling onto her back as a result. On the ground, she held out her hands and a red shield erupted in front of her. Augustine's attacks bounced off helplessly.

The DUP leader then charged at Jessica. Once mere feet away, the concrete field transformed into long whips held by Augustine. Her feet once again came to the floor and she pulled her arms back and over her head. The heavy whips slammed onto the ground just as Jessica rolled out of the way. However, as she stood back up, her chest met one of the whips head on and she was tossed towards a platform, hitting the ground with a heavy thud before getting back up.

She looked at the gash on her shoulder just as a red mist left her body and trailed towards the wound, healing it. Just ahead of her, Augustine was charging again. She ran with her whips trailing behind before propelling herself into the air. Before she had a chance to strike, Jessica launched a red missile at her. The impact made her stumble and she was forced to change her whips back into the concrete field. She regained her composure and hovered just in front of Jessica.

She created a shield and shoved it forward, effectively creating a shockwave that threw Augustine back a few feet. Afterwards, Jessica pummeled the DUP leader with a burst of red, further disorienting her. Jessica then jumped at her and latched onto her. The sudden force was enough to break Augustine's concentration long enough to disrupt her concrete field. All the shrapnel fell to the floor followed by the pair. On the ground, Jessica threw her hands on both sides of her face and the red mist emanated from them.

She struggled, hurling small bits of stone at the younger conduit with her power. Many of them scraped her face and slammed against her shoulder, but Jessica held on. She felt her powers draining faster than her pain tolerance. But her determination paid off. Seconds later, Augustine was unconscious. Jessica hurried off her and brushed herself off. She looked at her handiwork before looking back at her environment. She had won. She was the hero. She smiled.

Then, she was thrown back into reality, and her smile disappeared. When she returned, she was greeted by Eugene, Alex, as well as several guards who held her at gunpoint. Alex walked up to Jessica with an open restraining device. The young conduit sighed as she held her hands out. Alex secured the device around her hands and the guards eased up. Alex motioned Jessica to follow her. For the past two months, Jessica has been training like the other conduits. However, she was also a prisoner, after helping Celia kidnap Ashton and Sebastian.

She followed Alex and her escort, all the while getting stared at by the other conduits. They eventually reached her prison cell. It was protected by a glass wall, allowing the guards to keep an eye on her at all times. When she was situated in her room, they closed up the cell and left. A few seconds later, Eugene walked up.

"Wanna' tell me why you put me up against Augustine?"

"It was Alex's idea. She wanted me to put in Augustine to see how you would react."

"Did I pass?" she asked sarcastically.

"I don't know. But if you ask me, I think that was the best you've ever done."

She nodded without looking at him, and Eugene took this as his cue to leave. However, as he turned around, she spoke to him again.

"Thank you… for letting me train. I know it must've been hard to convince them to give me a chance."

"You're welcome. I know what it's like to be forced to do something you don't want to," he replied before walking off. A few minutes later, she had another visitor.

"Found my roommate yet?" Jessica asked Sam as he approached her cell.

"No… not yet," he spoke, annoyed at the question.

"You know I can't help you," she replied while laying down on the bed in her cell.

"I know, I just wanted to talk."

"I'm not talking to you," she said coldly.

"This is about Celia."

"I'm not stupid!" she snapped.

"I need your help to find her."

"I told her, I can't help you. Do you honestly expect me to find her?"

"No, but she seems to have a knack for finding other conduits."

"You wanna' use me as bait?"

"She's not going to kill you."

"Yes she will! I'm a loose end to her! If you ask me, I think we're all better off not knowing."

"She's killing innocent people."

"Those 'innocent people'," she began while sitting back up, "Would kill people like us if they had the chance. If anything, she's saving innocent lives."

"You're agreeing with the person who threatened to kill you?" Sam challenged.

"I seem to remember saying that I wasn't talking to you," she said while laying back down.

"Jessica…"

She closed her eyes as a response, signaling that she was indeed done talking. Sam sighed and shook his head before leaving her presence. When he left, she opened her eyes. She looked at the restraining device on her hands and sighed.


	6. CHAPTER 5 - Agent Sampson

**A/N - So... I discovered a bit of a continuity error in my story. Nothing too major, but still major enough for it to bother me. The name "Bertrand" was supposed to appear on the artificial conduits' shoulders in chapter 1, but I didn't have that written. I do now. I also made a few edits to fix spelling and syntax. That being said, it doesn't really warrant a re-read, but if you want to, go ahead. Thanks again for the continued support.**

"Mr. Bertrand, I'd like you to meet my top student," Wolfe introduced, "This is Bentley Sampson."

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir," Bentley greeted with a hand outstretched.

"Pleasure's all mine," the tall man returned, his thick southern accent hanging in the air.

"Joseph Bertrand is our leading benefactor on this project," Wolfe continued.

"The work you're doing here is revolutionary doctor. I only wish to see myself on the right side of history," Bertrand remarked.

"We're all going to make history," Wolfe agreed.

"Alright, everything is ready," a female voice called from afar, this one only containing a slight accent. The owner of the voice then revealed herself to the group.

"Gentlemen, this is my daughter Penelope," Bertrand introduced.

"Howdy," she greeted with her hand outstretched towards Wolfe who returned the handshake.

"Sebastian Wolfe."

She then turned to Bentley with an open hand.

"That makes you Bentley, I take it?"

"Yes, Bentley Sampson," he said while returning the handshake.

"Great! I was wondering when I was gonna' meet my partner."

He still remembered that first conversation, that first greeting. It was such a long time ago. He was so full of pride then. After all, it was a rare occurrence for a student of his age to be welcomed aboard such a prestigious research project. Looking back on it now, he would've declined Wolfe's offer. But thinking like that was pointless, all he could do was focus on the task at hand. He sat at a lab bench and watched as their tracker, the same one they had recovered from Curdun Cay, sifted through veritable fountains of data in an attempt to find the missing conduits. Using recovered DNA samples, they were able to isolate the radiation combination inherent in Ash, Sebastian, and Celia. However, tracking them down took time and power.

"How's it going?" Sam asked as he walked in on his friend.

"The cross-matching is at seventy-four percent," Bentley informed.

"That's not what I meant."

Bentley sighed.

"I'm fine, I suppose. There's just a lot to do."

"Agreed, seems there's little time to sit around, so why are _you_ sitting around? Isn't the tracking process automated?" Sam asked.

"Oh, so you have been paying attention," Bentley teased.

"What's going on Bentley?"

He sighed again.

"I've been thinking Sam… about when I was working with The First Sons… when Kessler was in charge."

"That was in the past Bentley. The past was meant to be put behind us."

"It was meant to serve as a learning experience."

"So, did you learn from it?"

"Let's hope so."

Meanwhile

"We're twenty minutes out!" the pilot shouted from his seat. The two conduits were unresponsive, as flying for hours left them feeling drained. Ryan looked at Cole who stared at the floor of the helicopter. Bentley had sent them to Curdun Cay on a mission to recover equipment. However, Cole's stoic silence made Ryan believe that we were doing something more than that, that Bentley told Cole something. Ryan wanted to know what that was.

"So…" Ryan began, eager to break the silence, "What was it like… ya' know?"

"Dead?" Cole finished.

Ryan nodded.

"Peaceful, like sleeping after a long day of work… or it was. They brought me back several times, only for a few seconds. And each time, it was like being woken up just after drifting off."

Ryan nodded in understanding.

"We have a problem," the pilot called out.

"What is it?" Cole asked.

"We have several DUP vehicles on our radar," he explained.

"What? I thought we killed their leader… twice," Ryan stated.

"They must be regrouping," Cole assumed before addressing the pilot, "Get us in as close as possible."

"Are you serious?" Ryan asked.

"If this is the last of the DUP forces, we can scatter them permanently."

"But, it's an army against two!"

"We _are_ an army, Ryan. We can put a stop to the DUP for good."

"We need reinforcements."

"With that many vehicles, more than likely they're trying to move. If they get away, that's an opportunity for them to hide and grow. We can't give them that chance. We have to strike them here and now."


	7. CHAPTER 6 - Past

**A/N - Happy holidays everybody! I hope you guys are doing well. I'm submitting this a little earlier than I usually do, but I don't imagine that'll cause any problems, just think of it as a little present ;)**

 **Enjoy!**

"I'd feel a lot better if we had a plan," Ryan thought aloud as they left the helicopter.

"Where's the fun in that?" Cole's ruffled voice replied.

"Not all of us fought a hundred-foot monster ya' know."

"In the end, it was the easiest fight I ever had. All I did was push a button."

"What was the _hardest_ then?"

Cole took a second to think as they walked towards the giant compound.

"Kessler," he answered.

"I still have nightmares about him," Ryan stated, half to himself.

"Really?"

"Oh uh… well I mean, I guess 'nightmare' was the wrong term—"

"No I meant… you knew Kessler?" Cole interrupted.

"Yeah, he was the one who—"

"Halt!" a guard at the gate shouted with his weapon drawn, "This area is restricted!"

"I thought the DUP didn't exist anymore." Cole shouted back.

"That's none of your concern."

"Shut up and open fire!" another shouted.

Several soldiers and turreted trucks sent a barrage of bullets towards the pair. However, Cole calmly held out his prosthetic hand and a static shield materialized in front of them. Bullets disintegrated as they came into contact. Ryan stood behind and watched as the older conduit stood his ground, seemingly unphased by the assault. Seconds later, several missiles emerged from all sides of the complex. As they converged towards the shield, Ryan tossed a time bomb in front of Cole. The plethora of bullets and missiles gathered inside the bluish sphere, serving as a temporary shield. Seeing the projectiles slowly moving towards them gave Cole an idea.

He sent several shockwaves into the sphere, causing all the projectiles inside to change direction. Seeing his plan, Ryan closed his fist and the sphere dissipated. As it did, time reverted back to normal and the various projectiles were returned to their owners. A few missed their targets, but those that didn't resulted in either dead soldiers or exploding APCs.

"Hold your fire!"

The gunshots slowed to a halt as a man dressed in sleek black armor walked out from within the complex. A large wooden crate trailed behind him.

"You're not gonna' kill him," he told the soldiers, "That's Cole MacGrath. The crazy bitch went an' done it. You truly can't kill the demon of Empire City."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere!" Cole called out.

"That being said, I can probably do something about the younger one."

"You'll have to go through me first," Cole replied.

"Now," he commanded.

On either side of the conduit pair, rocketeers appeared form the shrubbery and fired missiles. Cole was able to use a shock blast to send one back towards the sender and turned around in time to get blasted by the other. It struck the ground between them and separated them.

"Fire!"

Gunfire filled the air again as every assault rifle was aimed at Cole. He held a static shield to protect himself as he stood back up. Meanwhile, the agent knelt to the ground and the lid to the crate blew away, revealing a swarm of black beads. They gathered around his feet and he jumped into the air, projected by the magnetic spheres. He positioned himself between the two conduits and turned towards Ryan as Cole was bombarded with bullets.

Ryan unholstered his submachine gun and opened fire. The agent created a shield using the magnetic beads and the bullets bounced off. Spikes then erupted from the agent's shield and were sent towards Ryan. He teleported out of the way and held his hand to the ground. A blue light emanated from the ground and he lifted his hand upwards. The resulting shockwave snaked his way towards the agent who was launched to the side by his artificial power.

Meanwhile, Cole strafed back and forth trying his best to get to Ryan. They must've been running out of ammo, as the barrage of bullets slowed. When he saw an opening, he closed his shield and ran towards the open compound. He shot several electrified rockets into the sky and then sent smaller bolts towards groups of soldiers. Each smaller bolt redirected his rockets, sending them straight into his attackers.

At that point, the gunfire ceased, leaving the only the gunshots coming from Ryan. Cole turned and opened fire at the agent, sending a stream of electrified bolts at the agent. After a few seconds of being pummeled, he brought up a shield to protect him, only to have beads fall to the ground as Cole's electricity struck them. Then, noticing the situation he was in, he propelled himself into the air towards the station. Cole sent a rocket in his general direction and, after being shot by a smaller bolt, it sought out the agent and hit him, disabling his artificial power in the process.

He hit the ground with a resounding thud and the two went to investigate. Upon further inspection, they found him to be dead. Ryan then looked back at the rest of the base. Everybody lied dead, and each APC was in flames. He then looked back at all the source of the destruction: Cole. He was greeted by an uneasiness that he couldn't shake off.

"Great work kid," Cole complimented.

"Uh, thanks," Ryan spoke, broken away from his thought.

"C'mon, let's go claim our prize," Cole suggested while walking towards one of the side buildings.

"What exactly _is_ our prize?" Ryan asked, catching up to Cole.

"Well… this Augustine character gave her powers to all of her shoulders right?"

"Right… and she did it using a machine, didn't she?"

"How did you know?"

"Kessler… used the same thing on me… to give my powers to the Reapers in Empire City."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's not the most pleasant feeling in the world, and to do it over and over again… a friend of mine went through that."

"Is she okay?"

"She's dead."

Ryan immediately felt as if a needle stabbed him.

"Sorry," Ryan said as they walked into the targeted building.

"Don't be, it was years ago. You'll find out pretty quick that time heals a lot of things."

Cole's hunch paid off, as the machine in question, though modified, laid in front of them. It was a large wheeled platform with room for two people. On either end of the platform, a dish faced inwards towards a centralized pylon that served as the power source. The dishes were attached to vertical towers that were equipped with arm restraints.

"This is it…" Ryan whispered.

"Looks like it. Though it's much smaller than the one I used."

"Did Bentley ever say why he wanted us to get this?"

Cole stared at Ryan, hesitant to answer.

"No."

They loaded up the machine onto the helicopter and then boarded themselves and flew back to the refuge. When they returned, they were greeted by Sam, Alex, and Bentley. They were instructed to wheel the power transfer device to the lab. Once it was plugged in and hooked up, Bentley looked at Ryan and Cole.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked.

"While… examining Cole, we've noticed some… complications."

"Like what?" Cole asked.

"Your body seems to be deteriorating at an accelerated rate. We believe that it may be a result of the… Lazarus Project."

"How is this machine supposed to fix that?" Cole asked.

"I want Ryan to give you his powers. With his time-altering abilities, it may be possible for you to slow down the deterioration process to that of a normal human's."

"Are you sure? This thing was originally designed to work both ways. What if I accidentally give Ryan something he—"

"Let's do it," Ryan interrupted.

Cole looked over at Ryan in shock.

"Kid? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, if I can help, I need to."

Cole put his hand on Ryan's shoulder.

"Alright, let's do it."

The two prepped themselves as Bentley instructed them where to stand. Once they were locked into place, Bentley went to fetch a small metal container. When he opened it, he revealed a glowing piece of stone: a blast core. He carefully walked it over to the machine and placed the blast core into the central pylon. He then walked to a nearby computer and typed a list of commands before letting his finger hover over the "enter" key.

"You two ready?" Bentley asked.

"What is this gonna' feel like?" Ryan asked.

"You know the feeling you experienced when using the blast core?"

Ryan nodded.

"Imagine that times ten."

Bentley hit "enter" and the pylon started glowing a bright purple. Then, a small shockwave was released by the blast core that slightly shoved the others back. Cole and Ryan started writhing as a bluish mist was seen leaving Ryan and entering Cole. This continued for several seconds, causing the lights to flicker from the power surge. Then, as quickly as it started, the power transfer process ended, leaving both participants unconscious.


	8. CHAPTER 7 - Present

**A/N - Happy New Year's Eve everybody! I hope all of you are doing well and going into 2019 with good spirits. I'm making my New Year's resolution to upload a chapter EVERY week AND begin Beta Reading in full force. I've had a few people ask me if I could review their work so I decided to become a more active Beta Reader. For those who don't know, Beta Reading involves looking at other people's stories and providing feedback. I thoroughly enjoy reading other people's works as it helps me with my own. In short, if you would like me to review something you've written, shoot me a PM. Is there anything else I should say? Umm… Oh! I hope you guys enjoy!**

When the two of them awoke, they were greeted by Sam, Alex, and Bentley, as well as Delsin, Fetch, and Eugene. Sam helped Cole to his feet and Delsin helped Ryan to his. It took a few seconds for them to shake off the dizziness, but once they did, Ryan immediately looked at Cole.

"Well? Did it work?" he asked.

Cole closed his prosthetic fist and opened it again. When it opened, he generated a small bluish orb. However, after a few seconds, the arm began to audibly whir and a smoke trail snaked up from it. It was overheating. Noticing this, Bentley quickly donned some heat-resistant gloves went to work on the prosthetic.

"What's going on?" Cole asked.

"The machine fried the prosthetic's internal circuitry," he explained as he pried the device off Cole's arm. He held it in his hand and examined it at a distance. However, the heat soon became too much for Bentley, even through the gloves, and he was forced to place the arm on a nearby counter.

"I should've expected that," Bentley said admittedly.

"Well, if this worked, you may have just saved my life. I see no reason to apologize," Cole stated. Bentley nodded uneasily before addressing everyone else.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"The power," Bentley answered. That's when Ryan just realized the power went out.

"That should be an easy fix, right?" Sam asked.

"Yes. However, that means I have to start the tracking process over again."

A collected sigh came from everyone in the room before Bentley continued.

"I was able to locate Celia, but I'll have to relocate Ashton and Sebastian."

"Where is she?" Delsin asked.

"Just outside Seattle."

Delsin and Fetch traded glances with each other, both sharing the same thought.

"We'll go find her," Delsin suggested.

"Absolutely not," Alex butted in.

"Then what are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to wait here for the tracker to find the others?" Delsin asked.

"You can use this opportunity to hone your powers," Alex suggested.

"Training?" Delsin reiterated.

"We were _this_ close to being discovered last time," Bentley reminded, pinching his fingers together.

"We were ambushed, we did what we needed to be done," Fetch argued.

"That's still a no. Sam, gather your team and meet me in my office in one hour. Bentley, get Cole to the medical ward and start working on fixing that prosthetic. The rest of you are dismissed," Alex ordered.

Jessica was forced awake when she heard the heavy door to her cell open. She sat up and saw Director Davis sitting in his wheelchair. She was immediately scared and confused.

"Follow me," he ordered.

As she followed the Director to his office, another pair of curious eyes stood watching. On his way to his daily training, Troy saw the sight and decided to follow as well. However, it was far enough behind to not appear suspicious. He saw the Director, Jessica, and a group of armed guards walk into his office. When the door closed behind them, Troy took a seat on the bench just outside and listened.

"Jessica Ellege," Director Davis began while reading over a report detailing her abilities.

"Is this about my test yesterday?" she asked.

"It is actually. It's my understanding that Agent Cooper altered your examination, and against my authority."

"Why?"

"Both Agent Cooper and Mr. Simms think you have potential."  
"I _know_ I have potential."

"Then why do you waste your time in a cell?"

"You think I want to? Who put me there?"

"You left us with no ch—"

Davis was once again interrupted by a coughing fit, this one more violent than the last. One of the guards attempted to walk up to him but was stopped when the Director held up his finger in protest. Davis pulled out a tissue and held it to his face until the coughing subsided. He then tossed the used handkerchief into a wastebin and cleared his throat while turning to address Jessica once again.

"Listen, I didn't bring you here to argue with you."

"Then why _am_ I here?"

"I want you to admit that what you did was wrong."

"What?"

"You assisted Celia in kidnapping two of our conduits, leaving several dead and dozens more injured. However, it's my understanding that you were helping her against your will. So I want to hear… what _you_ have to say about that."

She looked at the floor in front of her, refusing to respond. Davis waited for several seconds, but when she didn't, he sighed in defeat.

"Well then, I guess this conversation is over," he said, motioning the guards to return her to her cell.

"Our," she spoke just as a pair of guards grabbed her shoulders, "You said 'our conduits'."

Davis sighed, sensing her motive.

"This is why she does what she does. You don't own us. We're not 'your conduits'," she argued.

"So you support her?"

"I support her mission, her belief. I don't support the way she executes it though."

"Then why not help us change that? I can tell your heart is in the right place."

"If I leave here, she'll kill me."

"We will do everything in our power to keep you from harm."

"You don't get it, do you? There's nothing 'in your power' that you _can_ do," she argued, "At least I get to keep my head if I stay here."

"How are you so sure that she'll find you?"

"She has… ways of finding conduits."

"What do you mean by 'ways'? Does she have a tracker of her own?"

"I don't know, but you think it's a coincidence that she disappears right when you locate her?"

"Listen, Jessica. If you have _any_ information, you have to share it with us. Lives are at stake here."

"You're right, lives _are_ at stake. But I'm not willing to risk mine."

The Director sighed in defeat and simply stared at the young conduit in front of him for a few moments. He then turned to the two guards that stood beside her.

"Can you please escort Ms. Ellege to her cell?"

With a silent nod, the two guards grabbed hold of her shoulders and made their way for the door. Just outside, Troy dashed away from the door and behind a corner. The door to his office swung open and the cuffed conduit made her way back to her cell, with her entourage in tow. After hearing their conversation, Troy felt angry, not at Jessica for refusing to help, but at the Director.

Davis was willing to send her into the field, someone who actively betrayed them, and yet he was still stuck here. He watched Jessica from a distance and his rage only built up. Once she disappeared around a corner, his attention was drawn to the door to Davis' office.

"And remember, we're still trying to capture her alive. However, if you find yourself in a situation where it's your life or hers… you better be the one walking away." Alex stated, concluding her briefing of Sam's team, "If there aren't any questions, the chopper's prepped."

After a brief moment of silence, Sam and his team left Alex's office and walked towards the hanger. Most of them felt discouraged more than anything, seeing as they have yet to even identify her in the field. However, two of them remained as determined as ever: Sam and Sarah. They knew what they were up against, what Celia was capable of.

Outside the Director's office, Troy watched as Sam's team approached the hanger. His eyes were fixated on Sam and his suit. He heard of all the weapons and gadgets that it had. That had to be a lot of firepower too right? Why does Sam get to _run_ these missions and he just sits on the sidelines? He decided it was time to get some answers. He knocked on Davis' door.

"Come in," he called from inside.

Ryan walked in and was greeted by the Director working on paperwork of some kind from behind his desk. He looked up for a brief second and then looked back at his work. However, once he realized who it was, he looked back and his eyes stayed there.

"You're Troy, correct?"

"Yes sir, I was hoping I could ask you a question."

"Very well," Davis stated while placing aside his work for a moment.

"Why aren't I in the field sir? I've passed every test."

"Collateral. You cause too much collateral during your simulations. You destroy cars and buildings freely as if… they're toys."

"I let loose in there because I can. There isn't anyone in there that can get hurt, not even any simulated people."

"But you have to assume there are Troy. You think these cities are just gonna' be empty?"

"It could be after they've been evacuated, or it could represent an enemy establishment where collateral isn't—"

"Are you listening to yourself? This is exactly why you aren't ready."

"Are you scared I'm gonna' hurt others? Is that it?" Troy asked, his frustration growing.

"Yes," Davis answered calmly.

"Then why are you letting Jessica be an agent?" he challenged.

"Troy… were you… eavesdropping on my conversation with Ms. Ellege?" Davis asked, his brow furrowed. Suddenly, Troy realized his mistake and took a second to think.

"Get out of my office," Davis ordered

"No," Troy replied after a moment of silence.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not gonna' leave until you make me an agent."

"How can I possibly make you an agent when you can't follow a simple command?"

"This is unfair! If Jessica deserves to fight out there, so do I!" Troy shouted, his anger reaching a boiling point.

"You need to leave and calm down. You are _not_ ready!" Davis replied, his own anger making his voice growly.

"I _am_! Why can't you see that!

"No... you're... no—"

It was at this point that Davis was once again interrupted by a coughing fit. This one was much more violent than the one Troy overheard, and when he saw the Director's face change to purple, Troy's rage slowly transitioned to fear. The coughing grew louder and louder and Davis found it harder and harder to breathe. Troy started to panic. He stepped up to the Director and he held up a finger to protest. However, a few seconds later he fell out of his chair and his coughing changed to gasping for air. Troy immediately left the room and shouted at the passerby.

"Help! The Director needs help!"


	9. CHAPTER 8 - Future

**A/N - Wow... first week into the new year and I already broke my new year's resolution. Oh well... I guess it was bound to happen. Classes start up tomorrow so I had to pack up everything and move yesterday and during it all, I forgot to submit the chapter. My bad... Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy and feel free to tell me what you think by leaving a review. You guys rock!**

In the medical ward, Director Davis finally stabilized, hooked up to an oxygen tank. Just outside, Alex and Bentley stood watching, anxiously watching the nurses diagnose his condition. Seconds later, Delsin, Fetch, and Eugene came dashing through the door and joined the two.

"We came as soon as we heard, what happened?" Delsin asked.

Alex simply shook her head, her eyes fixated on the Director. The younger conduits watched as the group of doctors seemed to nod in agreement and approached the group on the other side of the glass window. The lead doctor removed his mask and sighed.

"How is he?" Alex asked.

"Not good I'm afraid. He's having difficulty breathing, and he's constantly coughing up fluid. We fear he might have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease," the doctor explained.

Bentley winced at the name.

"What does that mean?" Fetch asked.

"It's a combination of lung diseases like bronchitis and emphysema that contribute to blocked airways and the accumulation of mucus in the system," the doctor explained.

"Is it curable?" Delsin asked.

"We can treat it, but the damage is… irreversible. I'm sorry," he concluded, looking at Alex, "He wanted me to tell you that he signed the paperwork."

She nodded in understanding and the doctor walked out of the medical ward with his team behind him. Bentley turned to look at Alex.

"Should we tell Sam?"

"No, he's on a mission right now, and I need him focused," she explained. Alex then walked into Davis' room and stood beside him. He slowly looked towards her and Alex put her hand on his shoulder.

"Alex…" he muttered.

"Director?" she responded quietly.

"I'm… sorry. I thought I… had more time."

"Don't say that. We have a very talented team working to help you."

"So… do you," he said while looking over at the young conduits.

"Bentley."

"Sir?"

"Thank you… for everything… you've done… I know your stance on conduits is… conflicted… But you've always pulled through and… done the right thing. You've done more… than redeem yourself."

"Thank you, sir."

He then looked over at Alex.

"I'm… so… proud of you. You're strong… you're passionate… and you've always been by my side."

"You've been by mine too."

"Thank you," he said, pain apparent in his face, "Unfortunately, it's time for change."

"No… not yet. I'm not ready," she said frantically.

"We don't… get to choose… our time… Alex. You… know that."

"No sir, please." Alex pleaded, tears forming in her eyes, "Don't make me do it."

"Good… luck," he said as he closed his eyes.

That's when the others realized what the doctor had meant by 'paperwork'. He had given her permission to pull the plug. She walked over to the wall where the oxygen tank was hooked up. She looked over at Davis and, with a tear-ridden face, mouthed "good bye" before tearing away the power supply from the wall. Immediately, Davis started gasping for air. For several seconds, his body tried desperately to take in oxygen. However, his mind overcame his body and he relaxed; his body laying still despite the desire to breathe.

Alex was drawn to his fist, which was tightly grasping the gurney he was laid on. However, moments after his body calmed, so his grip. It slowly opened up and slipped off the side of the gurney, hanging there. It was done. Alex turned and looked at Bentley.

"Grab the doctors. Let them know," she ordered, wiping away her tears.

"Yes, ma'am," Bentley replied before leaving the medical ward.

She then turned to the young conduits.

"I need a moment to myself," she said while leaving the room behind Bentley. When she left the room, the three conduits simply stood there, staring at each other. After a few moments of thinking, they left and headed towards the training area, where they went to work.

Meanwhile, Bentley informed the doctors of the Director's passing and went back into the room where he was tending to Cole. We walked over to the bench where he was running diagnostics on the prosthetic before seeing the Director. He pushed himself to continue his procedure, but stopped seconds later to put his hands on the desk and hang his head low. From the opposite side of the room, Cole watched silently; he knew better than to ask.

Alex walked down the busy hallway towards her office. The rest of the base had been continuing normal operation, not knowing what happened to the Director. On her way to her office however, she was greeted by the door that lead to Davis' office. With a heavy sigh, she opened it and walked inside. She then closed the door behind her and walked up to his desk. His wheelchair still sat behind it, replacing a normal desk chair.

She placed her hand on the armrests of the chair before turning to look at what was on his desk. She saw a yellow folder, the same one he had taken out when she last gave him her report of the conduits' training. She opened it up and found a detailed profile of many of the conduits being housed here. One by one she sifted through the profiles. However, when she came across one particular page, she stopped: Troy. Troy was the one who found Davis in his office. She then looked at the corner of the room, and at the security camera.

One hour later, Ryan could be seen leaving the training area. He felt conflicted, after being told the news about the Director from Eugene. He decided to head over to the medical ward to see for himself. He went towards the room Davis was staying in, but was distracted by two people speaking in the adjacent room. As he put his hand to the door handle, one said his name and Ryan stopped, his interest piqued.

He walked to the other room and stood just outside. Beyond the door, Bentley and Cole were discussing with each other. However, Ryan would soon find out that they weren't discussing his treatment.

"I just don't see why this is necessary," Cole stated.

"It may not be, but we know that Kessler went back in time to train you," Bentley reminded.

"That was because of John. He's not an issue anymore."

"Correct, but consider the chain of events that took us here. The only reason we are having this conversation is because Kessler, you, went back in time. Now, if you stayed here and didn't go back, we would be allowing history to repeat itself. If you don't go back in time, your younger self could go back to living his life like the Blast never happened."

"And what's wrong with that?" Cole asked.

"The Beast could show up and destroy the world like Kessler said," Bentley explained.

Cole looked down and sighed before speaking again.

"So, there really _is_ nothing wrong with me?"

"I apologize for lying, but I was afraid Ryan wouldn't be as cooperative if he knew."

"He's gonna' be pissed when you tell him. You know that, right?"

"I do," Bentley spoke before stopping to think, "We'll falling apart."

"Things could be worse."

"How? Our Director's dead, our conduits are leaving faster than we're finding them, not to mention Celia."

"I was up against the world, remember? I was on my own, but here? Here you have a whole team dedicated to helping conduits."

"But our team is falling apart," Bentley said sullenly before turning to leave, "I'll be back."

However, before he could step outside, Ryan stepped in the doorway, preventing Bentley from leaving. A look of shock spread across his face and Cole sighed while looking down.

"How… How long have you been standing there?" Bentley asked.

"Long enough."


	10. CHAPTER 9 - Too Different

"Today… marks a tragedy," Alex started, addressing the various workers and conduits at the refuge, "Director Davis has sadly passed away."

A faint murmur erupted from the group she was addressing. Each voice was a whisper, and each voice was saying something different. Some asked how he died. Some asked what was going to happen. Others asked what the Director did, rarely seeing him outside his office.

"Fortunately, I'm happy to say that it was due to natural causes, and not," she started before seeing Troy walk in with a guilty expression, "Foul play. When I first joined this organization, nearly 8 years ago, I was put under his supervision and I worked with him side-by-side in helping people like you. He was my mentor. I realize you all have had very little interaction with him, but he was a man who cared."

There was a brief moment of silence as Alex fought back the tears that threatened to leave her eyes before speaking again.

"As a result, I will be the one to step in as the new Director. If you have any issues or urgent matters, you may bring them to me. Are there any questions?"

There was no response, not even a whisper among the group.

"Thank you, you're dismissed," she concluded, causing the group to disband and return to their tasks. However, her gaze met Troy's and suddenly he couldn't move. When all the others cleared the hall, she walked up to him, remembering the security footage.

"Listen, I… if it _was_ my fault, I didn't mean—"

"You need to leave," she interrupted.

Troy stopped, and his heart sank.

"What?"

"That's what you want, isn't it? To leave?" she spoke coldly.

"No! I mean… I want to be an agent," he defended.

"So did I. I wanted you out there because I thought you would do amazing things. But every time I tried, he refused… and I never knew why. Now I do."

"Ms. Cooper please," he pleaded.

"That's Director… to you," she snapped, "I thought he was talking about your powers, but it was your emotions you can't control."

"That's unfair! Give me a chance, please!"

"You've had plenty of chances. Pack your things, you leave in one hour," she ordered before storming off.

Meanwhile…

"Why did you lie to me?" Ryan asked Bentley at the medical ward, "You want him to go back? You want Kessler to go back?"

"He has to, Ryan," Bentley argued.

"Why? Kessler he… he was the one who took me away. Even when I was left with nothing, he stole me away… _you_ stole me away!" Ryan exclaimed, looking at Cole.

"You were the prime conduit," Cole whispered.

"Yeah, all those Reaper assholes? They got _my_ powers! I was hooked up to a machine just like that and I was forced to give my powers to dozens of other people for days. I was a kid!"

"Ryan… the fate of the time-space contin—"

"Oh really? Do you even hear yourself? I thought we were done with all the secrets…"

"Ryan please," Bentley pleaded while walking towards the young conduit. As a response, Ryan held out his hand and held it to Bentley's chest, where it began to glow a light blue.

"Ryan, stop!" Cole shouted.

"Tell me you won't do it!" Ryan shouted back, "Tell me you won't go back!"

Cole took a second to look Ryan in the eye. In those few moments, Cole saw the makings of a tear in the corner of his eye.

"Please…" Ryan pleaded.

"I don't want to go back," Cole began, his eye-contact never leaving Ryan, "But if I have to, I will."

When he heard that, it took Ryan all of his willpower not to lash out at them. But instead, his removed his hand from Bentley with a less-than-gentle push and walked out. His stare was engraved in Bentley's mind for several seconds after he left.

"Are you okay?" Cole asked.

"I honestly don't know," Bentley replied, still looking at the doorway.

"Don't worry, Zeke will sort him out," Cole promised.

About forty-five minutes later, Troy had finished packing up his things. He looked at his bed and the ruffled sheets he left there. He then looked down at the small backpack he was packing his things into. Troy had very little personal belongings; basic clothing and hygiene products were all he packed. Knowing that the First Sons were required to give money to conduits who were leaving, he didn't bother to pack any food. With a sigh, he hefted the backpack over his shoulder and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

He met up with Alex just outside the hanger who was discussing something with Delsin and Fetch. However, when she saw Troy, her focus was turned on him. Delsin also turned to see Troy.

"Troy!" he called out, walking towards him with the other two following, "I heard you were leaving…"

"I have no choice," he said sourly, looking over at Alex.

"Alex, you know it wasn't his fault."

"He's unstable Delsin, we can't keep him anywhere near the others."

"But he's one of our heaviest hitters! We need him!" Delsin argued, raising his voice.

"No! We have our heavy hitters! Davis has been trying to kick him out for months, and it took me _this_ long to see that!"

Their arguing began to draw the attention of the passerby, including Eugene, Zeke, and Ryan.

"I was like that too! We all were! It's gonna' take time!" Delsin continued.

"We're out of time!" Alex countered.

It was at that point, Troy pushed himself past the group. He took a few steps towards the hanger door before turning around to face the new audience.

"I came here to do some good," Troy began, "I wanted to make a difference. They promised me that chance. But they lied."

He paused for a second and any bit of chatter that escaped their lips had disappeared.

"They wanted to make me, all of us, into weapons. But then they learned that they couldn't control me. They learned that they weren't the ones with their fingers on trigger, and they got scared. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I'm staring directly at the new Augustine," he challenged, looking at Alex with rage in her eyes.

"Delsin," he continued, "You know I'm right. You broke everyone out of one prison, now it's time to leave another."

Delsin was shocked. For several seconds, he couldn't find the words to say. But eventually he replied.

"These people here are doing good things Troy. They, Alex, wants the best for all of us. I'm sorry, but as long as there's work here, I can't leave. I'm sorry."

Troy took a step back, feeling betrayed by the one he considered his hero, his idol.

"I'll go."

Everyone, Troy included, looked to see where the statement had come from. They saw Ryan. He walked up with a stoic expression on his face as the murmurs kicked up again.

"Ryan?" Delsin asked, dumbfounded.

Once Ryan was by Troy's side, he spoke again.

"Troy's right! Every day, we're seen as weapons! We train for missions, we work tirelessly, and for what? They say it's for our benefit, but how can it be? I tried to see the good side in the people here, but all they do is lie and cheat! As long as this organization is run by non-conduits… I can't stay."

"Ryan…" Zeke began, "Listen buddy, I know what you're going through, but you need to think. Is this really the right thing to do?"

"I don't know what the right thing is anymore Zeke," Ryan responded. He then walked up to him and removed his Reaper hoodie. He bunched it up and handed it to Zeke, who reluctantly grabbed it.

"I'm gonna' miss ya' kid," Zeke said, understanding that Ryan's mind was set.

"Me too," he said, closing in with a hug. He then stepped back and walked over to Delsin, Fetch, and Eugene.

"Thanks… for everything."

"You don't _have_ to leave," Fetch whispered.

"I do. Things are burning to the ground here, and I can't watch that anymore."

"We'll miss you," Eugene added.

"Look on the bright side, at least you'll get the room all to yourself now," Ryan joked, causing Eugene to crack a smile.

"Take care of yourself," Delsin told him.

"Yeah, you too."


	11. CHAPTER 10 - The White Rabbit

After hours in the air, Sam's team finally made it to their destination. The helicopter landed in a clearing a few miles out from the Akomish longhouse. The group readied themselves for what could be their big break. Sam's team consisted of himself, Sarah, Mark, Lynne, and their newest member, TJ. Though experienced, this was TJ's first mission with Sam, after he refused to continue working with Delsin and Fetch, specifically the later.

"Alright team, listen up!" Sam began his briefing, "Up ahead is the home of Delsin's people. Our first task is to investigate the area for signs of Celia. Since she and Delsin have history, these people might be a target for her."

He paused and scanned the group, making sure they were attentive.

"If we don't see her there, we move closer towards the city of Seattle and investigate the outlying areas," Sam continued, "And just like Al— just like Agent Cooper said, unless it's a life-or-death situation, we bring her in alive. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Sarah replied.

"Everyone!"

"Yes sir," the others chimed.

"Good, let's go."

Sam left the helicopter with his team in tow. Though their target was the longhouse, the team remained vigilant the entire walk there, knowing that Celia, or anyone else for that matter, could be watching them, waiting to make an attack. One teammate wasn't quite as focused on her surroundings though. Sarah was stuck in a different world, thinking of what would happen had she seen Celia. She wanted to kill her, after being dragged away to Curdun Cay by her once-best friend. She wanted her dead.

Yet, she kept developing these scenarios in her head of when she next saw Celia. Many of them were her attempting to reason with her, convince her to come with them. But the images of her dead adoptive parents and cold dark cell would remind her inner self that the Celia she knew was long gone. Celia needed to die.

"Sarah? Are you okay?" Sam asked, breaking her out of her trance.

"Huh? Yeah I'm… fine. I'm just thinking."

"Just make sure not to get distracted. This could be our chance."

She nodded in understanding as the group approached the longhouse. Seeing a fish cannery off to the side of the longhouse, Sam turned to his team.

"Time is of the essence. Sarah, Mark, Lynne, I want you to explore the storehouse over there and see what you can find. TJ, you and I are gonna' look in the longhouse. Any questions?"

As usual, the group held silence.

"Alright, let's go," Sam dictated as he and TJ continued towards the longhouse. TJ watched the other group as they made their way towards the cannery. A sudden uneasiness flooded him.

"You sure it's a good idea for us to split up?"

"No, but we're running out of time and options," Sam replied.

When they got to the door, they found it opened ever-so-slightly. Unknowing if from an intruder, or Akomish custom, the duo carefully opened the door and headed inside. Upon initial inspection, the building appeared to be in an almost identical condition compared to when Sam first picked up Delsin, six months ago.

"Stay close," Sam whispered while holding out his wrist-mounted machine guns. TJ followed close behind, ready to strike at a moment's notice. They began inspecting all the rooms for evidence of Celia. However, there was not only a lack of evidence, but a lack of people as well.

"That's odd. It's the middle of the day. Where is everyone?" Sam inquired.

Meanwhile

The other group arrived at the cannery roughly the same time. The three of them came across an open metal gate. Beyond that, the building stood before them, as well as a door.

"So… should we knock or?" Mark began. Sarah looked at him for a second before looking back at the door. She put her hand to the door knob and twisted it open. The door opened wide and the three of them walked in. They were greeted by a large open room with tile flooring and large fish on hooks hanging from the ceiling. In front of them, three doors stood as entryways into other rooms. Sarah looked at them carefully.

"I know what you're thinking, and it's a bad idea," Mark budded in, causing her to turn around.

"I have to agree with Mark on this one," Lynne added, "We need to stick together."

Silently, Sarah turned back to face the doors.

"You're right, follow me."

Mark and Lynne followed Sarah to the leftmost doorway. Beyond that, was a hallway with windows to the outside on the left-hand side. On the other side, they came across another door. They opened it up and were greeted by another large room, this one full of conveyor belts and other various forms of industrial equipment. One thing that caught their attention was that none of it was functional. There wasn't any whirring or banging anywhere. The room was silent. They quietly maneuvered from one side of the room to the other, always keeping an eye out.

"Guys, check this out," Lynne whispered. The two walked over to a small conveyor by which she stood. On it, was a very neatly folded dove, made of paper. They all exchanged glances with each other. Sarah picked it up and carefully unfolded it. An image was drawn on the inside. It was the head of a rabbit, drawn in Celia's signature style.

"She's here," she muttered blankly.

No sooner had she said that, than a thud came from one corner of the room. They looked in that general direction and saw their target. Celia Penderghast was standing right in front of them.

"Celia…" Sarah whispered.

"Hello Sarah, we never got a chance to… catch up," she replied.

On instinct, Sarah threw a jet of water at Celia. Celia, as a response transformed into a large group of paper doves that flew out of the way and onto an above railing.

"You got more powers?" Sarah asked, bewildered.

"Where's Delsin?"

"What makes you think we'll tell you anything?" Lynne called out.

"We're not enemies!" Celia replied.

"And Delsin is?" Mark asked.

"No, but he's confused, I want to help him."

"Bull shit!" Lynne shouted before launching small blasts of napalm at the paper conduit. Once again, she transformed into a cloud of doves as Lynne continued her barrage. Each shot was too big to hit the tiny pieces of paper. Mark saw an opportunity and used his power to launch globs of paint in her general direction. They latched onto the doves and pulled them to the ground. Celia reformed in the pile of paint, her mask no longer the pristine white it once had been but instead a deep blue. Before the conduits had a chance to close in, she changed into a long ribbon of paper and spun rapidly, displacing the blue paint onto the other conduits as well as some of the facilities.

She then changed back, donning a clean new rabbit mask, and created a long ribbon in each hand. She ran up to the group and swung at them. The paper, seeming to have a mind of its own, was flailing about, snaking its way to its targets. On the other end, the three targets were defending themselves, desperately trying to neutralize it with their powers. Sarah and Mark grabbed onto the paper to moisten it and render it useless while Lynne would singe the paper with napalm. However, the longer they worked at it, the longer the ribbon became. Eventually, one ribbon was able to wrap itself around Mark's wrists keeping him from using his powers. Moments later, the same trick was applied to Lynne.

With the others temporarily out of commission, Celia lifted her foot up in a kicking motion. As she did, paper wrapped around and created a sharp spike that she used to impale Sarah by kicking her. She fell back and winced in pain. Before Celia had a chance to continue, Sarah blasted Celia with water. She then created a small bubble of water around Celia's head. Using her concentration, Sarah held the water in place, aiming to drown her.

Realizing how desperate her situation was, Celia was forced to drop the other conduits and put her hands up to the water. She tried scooping it away from her face, but Sarah used her power to put it back in place. She then went for Sarah who ducked out of the way. Celia stumbled as a response and fell to her knees. That was when Sarah looked her in the eye. Her paper mask had melted away and she got to see the face behind it. She saw Celia with puffed cheeks trying to hold her breath. She was scared. Her face was bleeding desperation.

Sarah felt the inner conflict rising to the surface again. For years, she had only one goal, to kill the person who killed her adoptive parents, to kill the person that betrayed her… to kill the person who killed the Celia _she_ knew. But that desperation, that fear, proved Sarah wrong. The old Celia was still in there, and she was killing her. She eased her fists and the ball of water fell away from her head, splashing down onto her clothes and the nearby area. She spent several seconds coughing up water and gasping for air.

"Mark, go get Sam," Lynne ordered.

Nodding his head, Mark ran for the exiting, following the path they used to get here.

"Finally, after all this time," Lynne thought aloud.

However, a faint whistling near the exit interrupted that thought. It was brief, and when it stopped, so did Mark. The two looked over to see what had happened. Mark turned around, stumbling. He looked at his friends while holding his hands to his neck. The others held their hands to their mouths with eyes wide open. A paper dove was lodged in his neck. When he tried speaking, blood spit out from his mouth and he fell to the ground, dead.

"NO!" Lynne shouted before turning over to Celia with a napalm fist. However, her rage was soon silenced when Celia created a paper ribbon and flew it directly into her neck, killing her instantly. When she slumped to the ground, Celia stood up. Now soaked in water and Lynne's blood, she turned her attention to Sarah. She held up her hands to use her powers but Celia tied them up with paper before she had a chance to. Once again, Sarah looked up at Celia. The fear that once seemed to take over, was replaced by anger.

"Celia, please," Sarah pleaded.

"You… you could've killed me…"

"I can't. I can't kill you," she replied sheepishly, tears forming in her eyes.

"You betrayed me, just like all the others."

"No, I didn't…"

"You left me."

"I know… and I'm sorry. I tried. I tried to get them to adopt you too."

"When you left… I was so alone… you were like a sister to me."

"We _were_ sisters, Celia. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything."

"Me too," she said calmly, before sending a ribbon through her neck.

Minutes later, Sam and TJ decided to join the trio in the cannery. They followed a series of opened doors until they stumbled upon a horrendous sight. All three conduits were lined up against the wall, slumped. On the wall behind them, bits of paper were held in place with blood, spelling out a single word: Delsin.


	12. CHAPTER 11 - Farewell

Back at the refuge, Cole was helped into a chair, recovering from an interaction with a blast core. Though he had inherited Ryan's time-manipulating powers, Cole wasn't able to time-travel. The purpose of the blast core was to hopefully awaken that ability so that he could go back in time.

"Anything?" Bentley asked Cole as he pushed his hand to his forehead.

"The vision I got… it worked," he replied tiredly.

"Really?" Alex interjected.

"Yeah, just… give me a second. Those things pack more of a punch than I remember."

"Of course," Bentley replied.

It was then that Cole looked up at the group of people in the room. He saw Alex, Bentley, Delsin, Fetch, and Eugene, all with worried expressions on their face. His breathing was heavy and his eyes felt heavier. This was the second blast core he had used within the last few hours, a rate that was proving too much for him.

"Are you okay?" Delsin asked.

"Don't worry kid, I've been through worse," he started before seeing Zeke walk through the door, "But then again."

The group saw Zeke and immediately understood.

"We'll leave you two alone," Alex suggested as she instructed the others to leave the room behind her. When they were gone, Zeke sighed.

"So… you're really doing it huh?"

"I wouldn't if I didn't think I had to," Cole explained.

"How many times am I supposed to lose my best friend?"

"This should be the last time."

Zeke nodded, understanding the intent.

"It's Trish isn't it?"

Cole looked at his best friend sternly in the eye.

"Even if I said yes," he said while grabbing a picture from the counter, "She wouldn't believe me, not then."

"Is that the picture Kessler had?"

"It's a copy of it," he explained while showing it to Zeke. The picture was of Cole, Trish, and Zeke on the day of Cole's wedding, in pristine condition.

"That's a damn good copy."

"I may not be from that timeline, but I still need to convince my younger self that I was, and for me… it was _this_ picture."

"She would be proud of you," Zeke stated.

"I'm not so sure of that, but I've made my choice. I have to go back."

Zeke chuckled.

"Ever think about what would've happened if you didn't get your powers? What you would've done?"

"Every day. Even now, I wonder… if Kessler hadn't found me… if _I_ hadn't found me."

Zeke nodded again

"Well I know exactly what would've happened."

"And what's that?" Cole asked.

"Right now? If you didn't have your powers. We'd be on that same goddamn roof in Empire City, wishing for something to happen."

Cole chuckled.

"I guess you're right. These adventures really have been something."

"Well hell yeah brother! I just wish we could have more of them."

"Me too man… me too."

A few hours later, it was time. Everyone was gathered together to say their goodbyes as Bentley was briefing Cole on what he needed to do when he went back. He also reattached his prosthetic.

"So she's the key to the Ray Sphere?" Cole asked.

"Correct," he said uneasily, "And if you find Bertrand… you find her."

"I had no idea I wasn't a prime conduit."

"Well, we didn't have a term for that back then but yes, lightning isn't your real power."

"Is there a limit to how many powers I can get? Kessler hit me with way more than lightning."

"I don't know, but if Delsin is anything to go by, I wouldn't recommend going beyond four different powers. The more powers Delsin got, the more he had to charge up before being able to use them. If you get too many powers, you may depower permanently."

"Too many powers is bad, got it."

When the briefing was finished, Delsin, Fetch, Eugene, Zeke, and Alex joined them in the pseudo lab. An awkward silence held in the air as everybody waited for somebody else to say something. Moments into it, Cole stood up.

"Thank you, all of you, for giving me another chance. I don't want to do this. I'd rather leave that part behind. But the fact is… I don't deserve this chance."

"But you do," Fetch butted.

"Yeah, look at everything you've done," Delsin chimed.

"Listen, I knew what was at stake when I turned on the RFI. I accepted that. Why should _I_ get a second chance at life when so many others out there give their lives every day?"

"But you're just going back. You're not giving your life… right?" Delsin asked.

"Kessler died kid," Zeke reminded, "If _that_ Cole seven years ago is gonna' stand a chance against John, he has to kill Kessler… he has to kill himself."

Delsin turned to look at Zeke and then back to Cole, who looked at the floor. Fetch put her hand up to her mouth and Eugene looked away.

"What?" Delsin whispered.

"I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but it's what needs to be done."

Delsin hung his head low. Cole put his metal arm on Delsin's shoulder.

"Chin up, kid. I may have to go, but you guys still have a job to do here."

Delsin sighed before lifting his head up again. He nodded and Cole turned to Eugene and Alex.

"A lot of non-conduits tried killing me, thank you for being some of those that didn't."

Eugene chuckled and Alex sighed.

"And Bentley… if what you said is true, know that I'm not mad at you. You didn't know what you were doing. Just make sure that this ends where it should."

"I will."

Cole nodded before walking over to Zeke.

"Any last words for me?" Zeke asked.

"How about this?" he replied with open arms. Zeke closed in with a hug for a few seconds before retreating back.

"That works too."

Cole then took a few steps back, looking back at the picture of him, Zeke, and Trish, before shoving it in his pocket.

"Good luck brother."

"You too, all of you."

He was then encompassed in a bright blue glow that started as an outline and slowly moved inwards. Eventually the glow was so bright that everyone had to look away. As they looked outwards towards the hallway, the light grew even brighter. Eventually, it died away as quickly as it started and they all turned around. When they did, he was gone. For several seconds, they all stood silent, watching the space where Cole once stood.

"Bentley… what did Cole mean by that?" Alex asked.

"I need to head to New York. I need to find Penelope."

"You're not going alone," Delsin stated.

"I wasn't planning on it. But we'll need more than just us."


	13. CHAPTER 12 - The Heir

Hours later, a helicopter arrived at the base. Alex stood in the hanger, waiting to hear his report as well as give him her own. However, she lost all words when Sam, TJ, and the pilot walked out while each pushing a gurney with a body bag resting motionless on it. They all hung their heads low and slowly made their way towards the newly-made director. She ran up to them.

"Sam? What's all—" she began before Sam opened the zipper of the one he was pushing, revealing Sarah's pale, bloodstained, face.

"Oh my god… Did _she_ do this?" she whispered.

"I need to talk with Jessica," he stated, ignoring her question.

"She's not here," Alex informed.

"What? Where is she?"

Meanwhile

"So… this Penelope… you knew her?" Jessica asked as the helicopter flew towards its destination.

"Yes, we were… close," Bentley answered.

"And she was the one Celia worked for?"

"Possibly."

"Is that going to be a problem?" Fetch snapped at Jessica.

"It will be if we encounter her," Jessica retaliated.

"It's unlikely we'll find her there," Bentley stated, "Penelope wouldn't keep someone like her around for too long."

"Why not? Sounds like good protection," Fetch inquired.

"She doesn't need protection. She's a conduit."

"Is that why you wanted _us_ to come?" Eugene asked.

"You three are a last resort," Bentley explained.

"Last resort?" Delsin questioned.

"I want to try to reason with her, see if she'll listen to me. If not, we need to… persuade her to come with us," he spoke while turning to Jessica.

"And if that doesn't work?" Delsin asked.

"Last resort," he said coldly.

The others looked at Bentley in silence for a brief moment.

"Does she know we're coming?" Delsin asked.

"She does," Bentley answered, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Are you okay?" Fetch asked.

"I'm fine… it's just been a while since I've seen her… and we didn't exactly leave on good terms."

"Don't worry, we'll make sure nothing happens to you," Delsin promised.

"It's not _me_ I'm worried about."

The helicopter eventually landed at its destination. When the doors opened, the passengers found themselves on the roof of a tall building. In front of them, stood a tall woman. Her long dirty blond hair rested on the shoulders of her pristine blue suit as she stood at the group of conduits. Her cold stare made them feel uneasy. However, when Bentley emerged from the helicopter, her cold stare disappeared, replaced by a look of shock combined with the slightest hint of joy. When his eyes met hers, she walked up to him and Bentley slowly made his way towards her as well.

They met halfway and stood perfectly still. She put her hand up to his cheek and Bentley responded by holding it in place, grasping the shaky gloved hand. She then pulled her hand away and embraced him, with Bentley returning the hug. For several long seconds they stood there, all the while, the three conduits stood in silence.

"I can't believe it… it's really you…" she whispered.

"We need to talk," he responded, causing her to back up ever so slightly.

"Where's Ash and Sebastian?" Delsin asked threateningly.

"They're not here," she answered calmly.

"Then where are they?" Delsin reiterated.

"I can't go against the confidentiality of my buyers."

"You _sold_ them?!" Fetch snapped.

"You can't sell people," Delsin argued.

"No, you can't sell humans," Penelope corrected, "There any aren't laws protecting conduits from trafficking."

"You son of a bitch!" Delsin yelled as he raised his fist, smoking circling it.

In one fell swoop, Penelope yanked off one of the gloves from her hand and held it at Delsin. Before he had a chance to strike, blue lightning left her palm and shocked Delsin, forcing him to stagger backwards. He was dumbfounded, and understood by Bentley was so cautious. However, his rage took over reason and he charged up his fist again, ready to shoot. Before he could, Bentley stepped between them.

"We're not here for a fight," Bentley called out, "We're here to talk this out, peacefully."

Delsin relaxed his fists and sighed as he took a second to cool down. Meanwhile, Penelope took that same time to place her glove back on.

"Perhaps some proper introductions are in order," Penelope suggested, "My name is Penelope Bertrand. I'm the CEO of this small research firm."

"The First Sons?" Fetch clarified while chuckling.

"Oh no, the government wouldn't dare to allow such an organization to exist. Thankfully, none of us will ever have to deal with that, isn't that right," she countered, a hint of suggestion in her voice. Fetch couldn't say another word, but her expression said it all. At that moment, a small buzzing could be heard, coming from Penelope's ear. That's when the group realized she was wearing an ear piece.

"Excuse me just one second," she said before tapping on the device, "Hello?"

No one else could hear the conversation but it was short and brief, and when the call was concluded, a small smile appeared on her face. She turned to face the group.

"You're just in time."

"For what?" Eugene asked.

"To witness history."


	14. CHAPTER 13 - Primed

**A/N - Wow, it's been a while since I've said anything to you guys. I hope you're all doing well. I'd like to apologize for last week's chapter. It was supposed to be much longer, but I was pressed for time and I wanted to post something as opposed to having you guys wait two weeks. To make it up to you, I'm posting this chapter a day early. I also wanted to take this time to say that we're getting pretty close to the end here, not just of this story, but of the trilogy as well. Thank you all for staying with me this long, I really appreciate it. I hope you all enjoy!**

The group followed Penelope into an elevator. It had a digital touchpad as opposed to the traditional buttons. Using her glove, she selected the bottom floor. Seconds later, the elevator slowly began its descent.

"Is that why you wear gloves?" Fetch asked, piecing things together.

She sighed.

"Everything I touch, I fry. I can't hold any sort of electronic device in my hand, and coming into contact with water sends tingles down my spine; so yes. I wear rubber gloves as a form of insulation. They've been fitted with fibers on the finger tips that allow me to use touch screen devices."

"How did you get your powers?" Delsin asked.

Penelope looked at Delsin for a brief second before turning to Bentley and smiling. He looked at the floor and sighed.

"Do _you_ want to answer that?" she asked. There was a moment of silence before Bentley responded.

"We don't know exactly how a conduit gets their powers, but one theory is through the experience of adrenaline. If a conduit experiences an extreme emotion, that may be enough to trigger their powers. This means that a dormant conduit could react powerfully to anger, fear, or in Penelope's case… passion."

"It was one of the first nights we spent together, and sparks were literally flying," Penelope added.

"I thought it was a sign," Bentley commented.

"It was," she said coldly.

"Turns out, lightning was the power Kessler was looking for… so he could give to Cole. The second I told her father about what happened, he… experimented on her… his own daughter."

"You knew what he wanted, and you knew we didn't have the best relationship,"

"But I didn't think… it wasn't reason enough to strike at him."

"What did you want me to do Bentley? I was scared… and I didn't my father would actually—"

"Stop," Bentley interrupted.

"Why? Does it hurt you to know that I was experimented on?"

"Of course! I was scared too! Ever since… I tried to find a cure… I even went as far as to test it at Curdun Cay."

"What?" Delsin asked, anger apparent in his voice, "What do you mean by 'cure'?"

"I was trying to make it so that conduits couldn't use their powers. I was trying to make them human again," Bentley explained.

"Human?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what _do_ you mean?"

"I… I just wanted to help her. I just wanted to give her a normal life again."

"But you can't change that. Changing that would be like changing nature," Fetch argued.

"In that case… we changed nature," Penelope stated proudly as the elevator reached its destination. When the doors opened, the group was greeted by a large laboratory with scientists running from station to station. However, the lab itself was all too similar to the one they found in Empire City, fitted with a cell in the center. The doors were open and everyone had a clear view of who was inside.

"Is that?" Delsin began, already knowing the answer.

"John White. After your little… escapade… I had him moved here."

"So it _was_ you… all this time," Bentley spoke despairingly, "Did Augustine know?"

"Of course, we had a mutual agreement. You think the government funded her little organization from the start? _We_ helped her get on her feet and she let us perform our project."

"Project Lazarus," Bentley stated blankly.

"Correct. We needed to bring John back."

"Why? Why _him_?" Jessica asked.

"He can use his powers to activate conduits. We needed his DNA so we could reverse that process and deactivate conduits."

"You wanna' take away their powers?" Eugene asked uneasily.

"This world isn't ready for super heroes, nor will it ever be."

"What about Ashton and Sebastian? How do they play in this?" Delsin asked.

"We were running low on supplies and funding. I needed them to give our project the much needed financial boost."

"Why?" Bentley asked, feeling betrayed, "What happened to you?"

"I only did what _you_ promised Bentley. It's passed all the machine testing. The chemical compound is perfect."

"Machine testing? That's it?"

"We only have one sample… and I intend to use it," she explained.

"What? But you have no idea how it'll perform. It could kill you."

"I've been living with this for years. I've had to suffer for so long. It hurts to drink… to wash my hands… if this doesn't work… if it kills me… then I'm perfectly fine wit—"

"No!" Bentley interrupted, "Don't say that. I can help you. My friend is a conduit without the same increased healing rate as other conduits. I've been working with his DNA to isolate the conduit gene. Please…"

"This'll work Bentley. I know it will."

"And what if it doesn't?" Fetch asked.

"Then we leave it up to fate to decide what happens next," she stated nonchalantly.

Moments later, a scientist approached the group holding a capped syringe on a small metal tray.

"Here you are, Ms. Bertrand," he stated before she took the syringe. She uncapped the needle and Bentley stepped closer.

"Please, don't do this…"

"I'm sorry Bentley…"

Everybody in the lab immediately stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Penelope as she injected the needle into her arm. Bentley watched as the unknown compound left the glass syringe and traveled into her body. She then removed the syringe and placed it back on the tray. The scientist then excused himself, not taking his eyes off his employer. Several moments passed and there were no notable differences. Penelope removed one of her gloves and flexed her bare hand. However, as hard as she tried to summon of bolt of lightning, she couldn't. She laughed, filled with joy.

"It… it worked?" Bentley asked.

With a smile, she extended her hand and Bentley took it, expecting some sort of static shock, but received none. He held her hand tightly and slowly pulled it up to his cheek. The sudden sensation was too much for Penelope and tears escaped her eyes.

"I… can feel you…" she whispered.

Not a second later, Bentley pulled her in for a kiss and the two embraced each other for several seconds. When they finished, she put both of her hands on either side of his face and Bentley placed his hands on either side of her face.

"This is… amazing…" Bentley whispered, "We can have a normal life again."

She smiled, the tears now more evident. She combed her hand through his hair and let it drift down his cheek. When her hand found itself in the tender area between his ear and eye, Bentley felt a violet jolt strike him. The sudden impact caused him to fall back and hold his hands to the area he was struck. Penelope's joy turned to terror as Delsin and the others kept him from falling to the ground.

"Bentley! Are you okay?" she asked, scared.

When he removed his hands, he revealed scared tissue that puffed up as if from a burn.

"What? But," she began while staring at her hands, one gloved and one ungloved. A second later, she saw a bolt of lightning snake across the bare hand, unwillingly.

"No, no no no no… No!" she shouted while removing the other glove to reveal the same scene. Seconds later, lightning dashed in between her hands, despite her not calling on her powers.

"No! Stop!" she shouted.

The lightning grew more and more pronounced as it started arcing across her whole body. Bolts snaked across her torso and each step she took left a small black puddle that was a layer of her shoes.

"Stop! STOP PLEASE!"

She was fighting a losing battle. The arcs grew longer and were firing off more quickly. They struck her skin, searing the flesh. She cried out in pain as her entire body appeared to be cloaked in electricity. She fell to her hands and knees as her crying turned into a violent wail. All the nearby workers watched anxiously, not knowing what was happening or what to do. Eventually, her hair was singed as long strands of it landed on the floor around her. Jessica looked at her. Knowing what she was brought here for, she attempted to walk up to her and pacify her. However, an arc of lightning struck her outstretched hand when she got closed enough and Jessica reeled back.

"Guys, we may have a problem."

"Everyone, leave! Now!" Fetch commanded.

Not needing to hear it twice, the staff did as they were told and evacuated. Bentley, starting to recover, looked at Penelope and panic started taking over.

"What… what's wrong with her?"

"We don't know!" Delsin shouted.

"Please Bentley! It hurts! Do something!"

"I… I can't!"

The cackling of lightning grew louder and more distinct as she struggled to stand up again. She fell back onto her knees with her hands cuddled to her chest. Her suit was singed and torn from the over-extensive use of her powers. The rest of the group slowly backed up and the arcs grew longer. Threatening to strike them as well. Using her powers, Jessica created a barrier to protect themselves from the powerful bolts. Seconds later, Penelope threw her hands away from her chest and a massive shockwave erupted from her. The blast threw the rest of the group backwards, knocking them unconscious.

It wasn't until several minutes later that they came to. Thankfully, Jessica's barrier was enough to protect them from the actual shockwave, but it wasn't enough to stop the force of the blast. Delsin was the first to come around. He stood up, his legs shaking and his ears ringing. He looked at the group on the ground, unable to comprehend the situation for a second. Once the ringing began to die out, he heard his name being called. It got louder and louder until it sounded as though it was right next to him.

"Delsin!" Sam shouted while running up to him and examining him "Are you hurt?"

"Sam?"

"Oh thank god," he whispered, out of breath. He then turned his attention to Bentley and the scars on his face.

"Oh my god! Bentley!"

He rushed over and looked at him. He then put his head to Bentley's chest. He sighed when he heard a heartbeat. At that point, Fetch and Eugene woke up as well. They slowly stood up and dusted themselves off. When Delsin's mind finally cleared, he immediately looked at Jessica, who was out cold.

"Is she…" Fetch began, thinking the same thing. Sam walked over to Jessica and checked her pulse. It was fast, but it was there."

"She's alive," Sam announced.

A collective sigh came across the whole group and Sam was able to take in his surroundings.

"What happened?" he asked.

Delsin, when looking around, pointed at the culprit. Sam looked and saw the general outline of a woman. She had no clothes, but instead a layer of charred and cracked skin. Her distinguishing features were no longer visible and the cracks were a bright blue that allowed electricity to flow like molasses… or lava.

"Is that—"

"Penelope…" Bentley muttered, causing to Sam to rush over to his partner.

"Bentley?" Sam called.

"Where's Penelope?" he asked.

She began to stir back to life. Her crumpled form began to outstretch and she slowly got back up. Once she got back onto her feet, she turned to look at the group. That's when they noticed that her hair had disappeared and her eyes were replaced by unblinking blue orbs. She examined her hands, turning them over several times. However, she remained expressionless.

"This… this wasn't supposed to happen."

Her voice was loud and demanding, and contained a considerable amount of reverb.

When Bentley looked up, he saw what Penelope had become, and every emotion in his body turned to despair.

"No," he whispered, barely audible.

"Bentley… you were right…" she stated coldly.

"Listen… I… I can fix this."

"How?" she boomed.

"Trust me," he said, uneasily.

"You can't… after all these years. You kept telling me how close you were… but you lied."

Bentley closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

"You're right. I never found a cure, I never even got close. But I never gave up, I never gave up on you."

"You try to protect the ones you love by lying to them…" she stated.

"Well what was I supposed to do?! Am I supposed to say that it's hopeless?! Am I supposed to say that you're stuck like this forever?!"

"There was a time I trusted you, Bentley. But you turned me in as soon as you saw it profitable."

"That's NOT true and you know it!"

"I'm done being lied to," she said as she extended her hand, pointing it at the man on the ground.

"Penelope no!" he cried out.

Lightning snaked down her arm and into the palm of her hand where it shot towards her target. Before it could hit though, Sam dashed in front and took the shoot, the force pushing him into the cell behind them. Immediately, Penelope was bombarded with smoke, neon, and pixelated swords. After taking a few hits, she transformed into a cloud of static and flew out of the door. The three conduits went over to Sam who seemed relatively unphased.

"Are you okay?" Delsin asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Delsin then looked at the door she left through. He started heading towards the door when Sam grabbed him by the wrist.

"Don't be a hero, kid."

He shook off his grip and, with a look of determination, bolted out of the door.

Fetch and Eugene helped Sam to his feet and a look of horror appeared on Bentley's face as he stood up as well. The two conduits, looking in the same direction as Bentley, had the same look.

It was the cell.

It was empty.

"What?" Sam asked, "Who was in there?"

"John," Bentley answered.


	15. CHAPTER 14 - The Price

Delsin dashed out the door and looked at the outside world. To his right, he could hear screams coming from people followed by a loud explosion. He ran, straight towards the chaos.

"So, they're _both_ out there?" Fetch asked.

"Two super-powered conduits bent on world destruction? Yeah," Sam replied while standing up.

"She's not…" Bentley began, while sitting up.

"Bentley, I know what she means to you, but we don't have a choice," Sam argued.

"I… I can reason with her."

"But, the fact that you couldn't persuade her not to take the serum proves she's beyond reason."

"Eugene's right, Bentley. I know how hard this is, trust me, but we _don't_ have a choice," Sam spoke, kneeling down to face Bentley. At that moment, they heard a grunt come from Jessica and the rest of them turned to face the previously-unconscious conduit. Fetch walked over to help her to her feet.

"What happened?" she asked groggily with a hand to her forehead.

"We'll explain on the way," Sam responded while motioning to activate his pseudo jets. However, as he performed the familiar hand motion, the jets wouldn't activate. Puzzled, he then tried to activate his arm cannons, only to fail in that as well.

"Is there something wrong?" Fetch asked.

Sam looked at his hands for a few seconds before looking at a stainless steel tray on the ground.

"The blast might've damaged your suit," Bentley inferred.

Sam held his hand out towards the tray to try to pull it towards him.

But he couldn't.

No matter how hard he tried, the tray didn't so much as budge. He then examined his hand once again.

"It wasn't the suit she damaged," he began while facing the group, "It was my powers. She took them away."

Bentley's eyes went wide and Fetch held her hand to her mouth.

"That means… she did it. She figured out how to take away a conduit's powers!" Bentley exclaimed.

"Hey, where's Delsin?" Jessica asked, noticing that he was missing.

The remaining group all traded glances with each other.

"Oh no…"

Meanwhile

Delsin made his towards the downtown area. He found Penelope hovering in the air right next to a large neon sign hanging from a tall building. She put her hand up to it and started draining the electricity from it. Once it was drained, a small shockwave erupted from her and the sign broke off and fell towards the ground. A woman stood in its path and attempted to sprint away when it started falling. However, her shoes caused her to trip and fall, forcing Delsin to sprint to action. He dashed in her direction, materializing right next to her. He then lifted her up and carried her away by pushing himself away from the falling sign using a pseudo smoke jump. The sign crashed into the ground and Delsin examined the woman, making sure she wasn't hurt.

"Get to safety!" he commanded.

She nodded her head violently and ran away as fast as her high heels could take her.

When he turned his attention to Penelope, he saw an open vent near her. He then looked at the base of the building and saw another open vent. Without as much as a second thought, he transformed into a cloud of smoke and dashed through, appearing right next to her seconds later and grabbing onto a window pane.

"Penelope, stop!" he shouted, drawing her attention, "What are you doing?!"

"I'm showing everyone the kind of monsters we truly are," she explained calmly.

"You're not a monster!"

She chuckled.

"Listen, I know how scary it can be, getting these powers—" Delsin began, only to be interrupted by a bolt of lightning striking the bricks above him.

"Don't lecture me!" she roared while sending another bolt of lightning his way, causing him to jump to another nearby window pane.

"I've had my powers far longer than you've had yours!"

She struck again, and Delsin dashed upwards towards the roof.

"But this is new! You need to control this!"

She struck again.

"I thought I had the answer! I thought I could fix this!"

Again.

"This isn't something that needs to be fixed, just something that needs to be controlled! We can help you. Bentley can help you."

She wanted to strike again, but Bentley's name was enough to distract her.

"Bentley… is he…"

"He's fine! He's worried about you!"

Before another word could be spoken, a helicopter flew into the area.

"Put your hands over your head or we will open fire!" the helicopter's speaker boomed.

She turned around and held her hand out to shoot it and Delsin reacted by launching a cinder missile at Penelope point-blank. The resulting explosion forced Penelope's hand away, causing her bolt of lightning to project itself into the sky, as well as launch Delsin through the window he was currently hanging from. To his right, Delsin saw a computer screen and held his hand to it, draining the pixelated image. He then unleashed a barrage of pixelated conduit-fire at Penelope, which was enough to distract her. Seeing their chance, the helicopter pilot began shooting, sending a barrage of bullets at her. However, when they got close enough, each bullet disintegrated, essentially making her bullet-proof.

Delsin then rushed in, creating a pair of digital wings that projected him towards her. She saw this and disintegrated, leaving nothing but a cloud of static where she once was. Once Delsin was outside, he dashed again towards the ground. He looked at the cloud of static as it enveloped the helicopter. The interference was enough to disrupt the electrical systems and the pilot lost control. The helicopter spiraled downwards and crashed to the ground before Delsin had a chance to react. Penelope then emerged from the smoke, transforming back from the cloud of static to her humanized form.

"Maybe I was wrong. This… power… it isn't a curse… it's a gift…"

Delsin launched a set of swords that flew towards her. Each one hit their target, but she was unphased.

"You can't hurt me Delsin Rowe," she scoffed.

Delsin then called in a small army of angels that rose up into the air and, like a hellfire swarm, shot back down straight into Penelope, where they exploded upon impact. When the last angel disappeared, Penelope was left unphased with a newfound crater where she hovered.

"You can't hurt me," she repeated.

Delsin then turned to the fallen neon light behind him. Though the electricity was drained from it, the neon gas inside remained for Delsin to drain. The blueish-purple light escaped the tubes of the sign and snaked into Delsin's hand. He then did something he had never done before. Immediately after calling one karmic strike, he called another. He released a small shockwave that held Penelope, and only Penelope, suspended in the air.

In a radiant sweep, dozens of neon needles flew from Delsin's hands towards Penelope. Each one hit her and held still on her person. Once the last bolt hit, every single one exploded in unison, creating a large, yet compact, explosion. Delsin then fell to his knees, exhausted. Before the dust had a chance to settle, a bolt of lightning erupted from it and struck an abandoned car near Delsin, causing it to explode. When the dust finally did settle, Penelope revealed herself, unscratched. Delsin's heart sank.

"You can't hurt me," she repeated.

"Delsin!"

He turned his head and saw Fetch off in the distance with the others behind her. Penelope also turned to look in her direction. He looked back at her, anger apparent on his face.

"How much do you care about them?" she asked.

"Enough to stop you," he replied while holding out his hand towards the smoldering car. The smoke left the destroyed vehicle and charged Delsin. Then, in a single movement, he stood and prepped for a jump. When he did, he launched himself upwards, transforming into a group of smoke projectiles. He then transformed back several stories in the air and began the descent of his orbital drop. He flew faster and faster towards his target as their eyes locked onto each other. When he was just inches away from her. She launched a stream of lightning at Delsin, stopping him stone cold.

The continuous stream of lightning held him up a few stories in the air. He lost all of his kinetic energy and found himself writhing in pain. She then rose up to meet him where he was.

"You. Can't. Hurt. Me."

Lightning then left her hand and Delsin continued his descent. Delsin tried using his powers to slow his fall, but found they weren't responding. Panic set inside once he realized what was happening. He hit the ground, from several stories up. He landed on his back and Delsin was in the most pain he had ever been in for a split second, before lifelessness set in.

"NO!" Fetch cried out while launching several neon projectiles at Penelope. The super-powered conduit looked at her attacker for a brief second before transforming into a cloud of static and flew away. The group then ran up to Delsin. Fetch lifted up his head into her lap. When Sam came up, he put his ear to Delsin's chest. He couldn't hear a heartbeat.

"Oh god…" he whispered as he pulled his head back.

"What? What's happening?" Fetch cried.

"Without his powers, he couldn't heal himself," Sam explained, "Delsin's dead."


	16. CHAPTER 15 - The Spark

**A/N - Here it is, the longest chapter I've ever submitted to this site. It's also the last, before the epilogue. I hope you all enjoy!**

"Dead?"

"From that height, his vertebrae would've shattered and his spinal cord would've been severed," Sam explained quietly.

Fetch kneeled on the ground as tears flooded her eyes. Around them, the others held their heads low and Eugene's eyes began leaking as well, tears rolling down his cheek.

"No! No, you're not dead! You can't be!" Fetch shouted.

"Fetch…" Sam began while standing back up, "I'm sorry…"

"No!" she shouted again while holding his face, "You… you need to come back! Please!"

Everyone else watched as Fetch grieved.

"You're an idiot," she whispered between shallow breaths, "I told you… I told you we needed to stop. Why? Why didn't you listen to me?"

Sam, his attention drawn towards an explosion in the distance, remembered they had a job to do.

"We need to stop her," he spoke, looking at Bentley. Before taking a second to look at Delsin, he nodded in agreement. Sam then looked at Fetch and noticed that she was in no state to fight.

"Eugene, Jessica, you can't get anywhere near Penelope without putting yourselves in danger. That doesn't mean we can't help get everyone else to safety."

"What about Fetch?" Jessica asked.

"Give her some time. Right now, it's just you guys. You two are the only ones with powers who could help."

"We'll try," Eugene stated, wiping away tears

"That's all I need. Let's go."

And they took off with Sam taking the lead. Bentley made one final at Delsin and Fetch as the others ran ahead. He sighed, feeling slightly responsible. He understood what he had to do and ran after them. Eventually, they caught up to Penelope as she continued her rampage.

"What's the plan?" Jessica asked.

"We need to keep her distracted while we get everyone else out of here," Sam reminded, "Eugene, how many angels can you create?"

"Not enough."

"You're our heavy hitter and we don't need to worry about hiding right now. Create as many angels as you can and keep her distracted yourself as they get everyone else out of here."

Eugene nodded.

"Jessica, you're our last hope. I need you to get as close as you can get while she's distracted and—"

"What?! You expect me to try to calm her down? She'll kill me!"

"I know you're scared, but we need you."

"I… I can't… I can't do it!"

"You're our only chance at stopping her!"

"No!"

"Delsin's dead! So are Mark, Lynne, and Sarah!" he shouted while grabbing her by the shoulders.

"What? Did Celia—"

"Yes! Because you were too scared to help!"

"Sam," Bentley spoke.

"Do you really want their blood on your hands?" Sam continued.

"I'll go."

Sam turned to look at Bentley, his statement settling in

"What?"

"Give me one more chance… to make things right."

Meanwhile

Fetch refused to move from Delsin's side. She did nothing but cry into his chest and think of what she could've done differently. Her biggest fear had come true. After losing her brother, she decided to not create attachments to anybody. But Delsin came along and she opened her heart to him, only to have it be shattered once again. This time was different though. When Brent died, she was filled with anger, rage, and a burning desire to kill the one ultimately responsible. She didn't feel any of that this time. She only felt pain and despair. She didn't have the same hatred towards Penelope that she had towards Shane.

When she lifted her tear-ridden face from Delsin, she looked at the pale face she'd come to care about, the same face she'd come to love. He was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it. She combed her hand over his forehead, wiping the hair away from his eyes. Just as she found herself beginning to calm down, she broke down in tears again, unable to contain the veritable flood erupting from her eyes. She then looked up towards where the others ran off to, knowing that she _had_ to help them. But she couldn't. She couldn't move. As her grieving continued, a red light appeared behind her, causing Fetch to wipe away her tears and look behind her. Her heart sank.

She saw John White walking towards her and she immediately stood up and held a neon-cloaked fist at him. He stopped and Fetch had a good look at him. In a word, he looked tired.

"What do you want?" Fetch asked through tears.

"I can help him," he replied.

Angels swarmed to local area as they were instructed to carry citizens to safety. Eugene was able to create a small army, but it wouldn't be enough to grab everybody. When the last of the angels were digitally constructed, Eugene took a second to catch his breath. He would need to rest before he could take on his angel form. Bentley had one last chance. With a quick inhale and a quicker exhale, he made a dash for Penelope and called out to her when he got close enough, with his hands behind his back. When he got to her, she was draining the electricity from a radio tower.

"Penelope!"

She looked down to the one calling her name. When she saw Bentley, she lowered herself until she was back on the ground.

"Bentley…"

"Penelope, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm… better than ever."

"That… that's good. I was worried about you."

"This power… is incredible."

"Listen… I don't know how or when… but I _can_ fix this."

"Fix this?"

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"All I wanted… was you. I wanted to change, for you."

"You didn't have to. Conduit or not, I still love you. I have so many regrets, but you're not one of them."

She wanted to put her hands to his cheeks but stopped short, knowing that she would hurt him otherwise.

"I can't live without you," he added

She leaned in closer and right to his ear.

"Then why are you trying to kill me?"

She created a cloud of static and Bentley yelped in pain as he dropped what he was holding behind him: a 9mm pistol, now smoldering. Bentley gulped. She then firmly planted her hands to his cheeks and kissed him, all the while sending an electrical current through his body. She then pulled back and looked him in the eye.

"Good bye… Bentley."

She amped up the current and Bentley disintegrated, transforming into a pile of ash that blew away in the wind. From a distance, Sam watched the whole thing unfold, and he fell to his knees. Eugene on the other hand found an unknown source of adrenaline coursing through his body and he shot himself into the air and assumed his angel form. He projected a beam of light at Penelope, and she found herself being pushed back by the force of it. She soon countered by deflecting his attack with her own, creating a beam of lightning the held Eugene's at bay. The two were at a stalemate.

"You can't do anything!" Fetch snapped at John, before letting her voice drop slightly, "He's gone…"

"No… he's alive. I can feel it."

"Feel it?"

"His heart is weak but," he began while casting a red glow over Delsin, creating an x-ray, "It still beats."

When Fetch looked, her own heart skipped a beat. Delsin's was pulsating, even if it was slightly so. The x-ray vanished and she looked back at John.

"Can you really bring him back?"

"Yes… but I will be consumed in the process," he explained.

"And you're okay with that?" Fetch asked, wiping away the tears.

"I'm… so tired. I had my mission years ago and it's over. All I wanted… was to cure the Plague… and now that's done."

She looked at Delsin. She ran her fingers through his hair as she stared at his blank face. She yearned for the cocky smile that once took its place.

"Do it," she ordered, taking another look at Delsin before facing John, "Bring him back."

He nodded in understanding and Fetch backed away. John then held his arms out and his eyes turned white. His molten form appeared even more so as reddish mist left John and travelled to Delsin's limp body. It entered through Delsin's mouth and eyes and his body began twitching slightly. The small movement started at his fingertips and slowly worked its way through the rest of his body. Seconds later, his head began shaking as John's form began to disappear.

The slight shaking became a violent convulsing that wracked his whole body. Delsin opened his mouth, but the only noise made was a throaty scream. At that point, Fetch realized her mistake and went to push John away. When she turned to him though, the remainder of his form had disappeared. She turned to look at Delsin as the remaining of the mist was absorbed by him. When it was, the shaking stopped. Fetch simply looked at Delsin for several seconds. It was as if nothing changed.

"Delsin?" she whispered, hoping to get a reply. She walked up to him and examined him, specifically his face. For a split second there was nothing, but then Delsin's eyelids burst open, displaying the crimson orbs that had replaced his eyes. She backed up as his laying form began to levitate off the ground. When he was high enough, he positioned himself to be standing upright, though he remained hovering. Fetch wanted to feel joy, but the only thing she felt was fear.

"Delsin?" she repeated. He looked over at her blankly before looking in the direction of Penelope and Eugene. He lifted himself further into the air and launched himself forward, projected by thrusters emanating from his hands and feet.

Eugene was slowly losing the battle. Penelope's stamina was proving greater than Eugene's and, as a result, was beginning to be overtaken by Penelope's beam. It wouldn't be for long, however. Just when Eugene was on the verge of being cloaked in electricity, Delsin flew in and latched himself onto Penelope. He then dragged her directly into the ground. The two made a small crater in the concrete. When the dust settled, Eugene was the first to see his rescuer.

"DELSIN!" Eugene boomed in his angel form. However, when Delsin turned to look at him with the same cold stare he had given Fetch, he suddenly felt uneasy. Delsin hovered over Penelope who stood back up and looked at the man she thought she killed.

"How?" she questioned.

"You can't hurt me," Delsin replied before launching a molten red stream at her. She countered with an electric one, but Delsin's powered through hers and nullified it. Sensing the danger she was in, she transformed into a cloud of static and flew off, with Delsin in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, Fetch zoomed towards the group in a purple flash and arrived just in time to see the two titans chase after each other. Eugene then lowered himself to the ground and returned to his normal form.

"Was that Delsin?" he asked.

"Yeah," Fetch replied, suddenly finding words difficult.

"What happened to him?" Jessica asked.

"He absorbed John."

"What?" Eugene exclaimed.

"Sam, what do we do?" she asked, seeing Sam stand up on his feet.

"She killed him…"

"Who?"

"Bentley…"

Fetch suddenly had a noticeable lump in her throat.

"Sam I… I'm so sorry. But we need to stop her."

"There's nothing we can do Fetch. If what you said is true, only Delsin can stop her now."

The two super-powered conduits flew around the city at incredible speeds. All the while, Delsin had Penelope in his sights. He launched fireball after fireball at her, but each one merely passed through her ethereal form. He needed to get closer. With a burst of speed he shot himself forward until he was inside the static cloud. He then pushed his arms outward and a blast of red energy escaped Delsin's body and dispersed the static. It then transformed back into Penelope and she fell to the ground towards a building.

She crashed through all the way through to the bottom floor and Delsin lowered himself to her level. Meanwhile, people around them ran and screamed, Eugene's angels having not reached them yet. When Delsin touched down, he stared at the building Penelope crashed into. He walked towards it before being interrupted by an electric beam striking Delsin in the shoulder, disintegrating the shoulder of his vest and jacket. He reared back ever so slightly and looked at the scar. He then looked at the attack's origin. Penelope could be seen leaving the rubble, occupied by a slight limp.

"I don't know how… you got this power… but it won't be enough…"

With a scowl, Delsin blasted Penelope back into the building she just crawled out of, adding to the buildings deterioration. She blasted her way out of the rubble and launched a barrage of small electric bolts at Delsin. He simply took the first several shots as if they were nothing, only leaving holes in his clothing. He then dashed forward and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. His strikes were hard and fast, and Penelope could feel them. Delsin then picked her up by the neck and threw her to the ground, pinning her. Desperate, Penelope shot her hands outward and the sky grew dark as a giant lightning bolt struck down on the two of them.

The strike went on for several seconds and Delsin eventually let go. He backed up, feeling weak from her attack. However, the attack seemed to take its toll on Penelope as well. She struggled to stand up, her eyes focused on the new iteration of The Beast. For several seconds, they merely stared at each other. Penelope was clearly weaker, though she had one last trick up her sleeve. Delsin took a single step forward and Penelope charged up another beam with the intent of taking away Delsin's powers.

It surged towards Delsin and he held out his hand. When the beam made contact the weather began to change. Heavy clouds rolled in and the air gained a reddish hue. Thunder loomed above and Penelope saw this as incentive to keep pushing. The two seemed to be at a stalemate, and Penelope was starting to lose steam. When the stormy weather was at its peak, Penelope was forced to stop. She crumpled to the ground, exhausted. Delsin, on the other hand, was standing tall. His torso was singed and bore tattered clothing, but he didn't feel a thing. He did nothing but stare at the hand he used to stop her attack. He examined his fingers, watching as the blue lightning that snaked around his hand turn black with a white outline.

Penelope looked up and was horrified. In front of her, Delsin stood, his entire body cloaked in black lightning. The bolts grew stronger and began striking the ground around him with a heavy crash. The thunder above grew louder and more frequent, with a black lightning bolt streaking across the sky.

"How is this possible?" she asked.

He turned to her and his electric cloak transferred completely to his arm. He outstretched it and she attempted to run at him. A black lightning bolt struck the ground with such force that a shockwave was emitted, strong enough to break glass within a five mile radius. Seconds later, the bolt dissipated, releasing a loud cackle of thunder as it did. It took close to a minute for the dust to finally settle, but when it did, a crater the size of the blast zone in Empire City was left, and Penelope was nowhere to be seen.

Delsin watched as the storm began to dissipate. He once again looked at his hands. He saw electricity snake through his fingertips and Delsin was suddenly filled with something he could only describe as hunger. Delsin looked around, seeing that nobody remained in the local area. Everywhere he looked, he saw destruction and carnage. It filled him with satisfaction, knowing of the power he possessed.

"Delsin!"

He looked in the direction of the one calling his name. Out in the distance, he saw Fetch. With a quick glance he looked, before turning his attention away from her. Fetch then used her powers to dash towards him until she was right behind.

"Delsin!" she called again, forcing him to turn around. Though when he did, Fetch's heart stopped. He looked at her for several seconds with his glowing red eyes. That's when she knew Delsin wasn't completely there. Something else was taking over.

"Delsin, please! Snap out of it!"

He ignored her plea and turned around to walk away. After taking a few steps, he hovered into the air and held his arms out. As he did, the world around them began to shake and vibrate. Then, he started charging his powers. He drained electricity from street lights, neon from busted signs, video from nearby televisions, and smoke from chimneys and destroyed cars. He even absorbed pieces of concrete from below his feet. Fetch watched helplessly as the rest of the group arrived in time to witness the spectacle.

"My god…" Sam whispered.

"What do we do?" Jessica asked.

"I don't know. He won't listen to me," Fetch stated.

"Can't Jessica put him to sleep or something?" Eugene asked.

"Not while he's like this. He's way too powerful for me to use that on him. The best I could do is make him hallucinate. And even _that's_ risky."

"It's a risk we have to take," Fetch stated.

"What?" Jessica exclaimed.

"If you really want to come clean, now's your time to shine."

"How?"

"If he won't listen to me, there may be only one person he _will_ listen to."

Within moments, Fetch's plan was put into action. She walked up to Delsin and called out to him as before, yielding the same ignorance. She walked around him, dodging the shards of concrete and rays of neon he was absorbing, until she was in front of him.

"Delsin! Stop!"

There was no response.

"DELSIN!"

No response.

On the other side, Jessica was slowly walking towards Delsin. Her hand was outstretched as far as it could be from her body.

"Delsin! Please…"

No response.

Jessica kneeled to the ground and prepared to jump.

"Delsin…"

Jessica leapt into the air, projected upwards by her powers. Once she was at the same level as Delsin, she threw her outstretched hand onto the back of Delsin's head. A red mist encompassed it as she sifted through his memories. When she found what she was looking for, she initiated her hallucination and the sudden surge of power threw her off balance, tossing her back towards the ground. Delsin reeled in response, the environment around him no longer affected by his absorption. He tried desperately to shake off the feeling he was experiencing. When it proved fruitless, he turned around and faced his attacker. Jessica stared directly at Delsin, fear enveloping her.

"Delsin!" Fetch called out as Delsin began hovering towards Jessica.

"Delsin!"

Nothing.

"DELSIN!"

He stopped. This time, it wasn't Fetch who spoke. It was a voice that would make his heart sink some days and soar others. He turned around and Fetch's form was replaced with a tall male's with short black hair.

"Reggie?"

"Hey… buddy."

"But… how? You… were…"

"I'm here."

"Reggie…"

Delsin stopped for a few seconds before continuing.

"I'm scared."

"I know. But everything's gonna' be okay. Trust me."

"It hurts. And I need to drain to keep the pain away."

Suddenly, Delsin started convulsing, showing how hard he was fighting inside.

"Listen, I know you can fight it. This… thing inside… it isn't you."

"I'm… one of them," he said through gritted teeth.

"You're my brother. And that's all that matters. I don't care if you have powers or not. I still love you."

Delsin started groaning in pain.

"C'mon buddy! Fight it!"

Delsin started lowering himself to the ground.

"That's it. You can do it."

"I… I…"

Behind him, Jessica was starting to look fatigued, seeing that she was keeping a hallucination on such a powerful conduit. There wasn't much time left.

"C'mon…"

Delsin finally lowered himself onto the ground and Reggie slowly walked towards him. The super powered conduit appeared to regain his previous composure. His skin was transforming back to his usual form, though still keeping traces of cracks and burns throughout his body. When Delsin began to collapse, Reggie rushed in and grabbed him before he had a chance to fall. Delsin's eyes began to change back to their normal form as well.

"It's okay. I got you."

"Reggie…"

"Delsin… I…"

Jessica could no longer hold her grip on Delsin and she cut off her connection. As she did, the hallucination wore off.

"I love you," Fetch stated as the illusion of Reggie faded away and Fetch took his place.

"Fetch," he said while putting his hand up to her face.

"Delsin," she replied through tears.

"I… I love you too."

Fetch immediately pulled him in for a kiss. For several seconds, they just sat there, in the midst of the rubble. When she pulled away, she smiled at him, and he smiled back. Above them, a helicopter roared into the area, followed by two others. All three of them began circling the two. Each one had a sniper inside, aimed at the two conduits. On the ground, several APCs rolled into view. Sam and Eugene were forced back and Jessica ran out of view. When they pulled into the area. Soldiers poured out of the vehicles and formed a perimeter around Fetch and Delsin. Every single one of them had their weapons aimed, ready to shoot at a moment's notice.

"Wait, stop!" Sam shouted.

"Sir, stand back!" one soldier commanded.

"No, you don't understand!"

"I said stand back!" he repeated, this time, pointing his gun at Sam. Doing as he was told, he took a step back with his hands in the air. The soldier then returned to pointing his weapon at Fetch and Delsin.

Fetch took a long look around them, first at the soldiers on the ground in front of them, and then at the circling aircraft above.

"Fetch? What's going on?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Ma'am!" a soldier with a megaphone called, "Please step away from the bio-terrorist!"

"No, he's not going to hurt me! He's not going to hurt anyone!"

"Ma'am, it's for your own safety!"

Fetch looked at Delsin with longing eyes.

"You should go…"

"No… they'll kill you."

"They'll kill us both if don't do what they say…"

"I can't live without you…"

"On the count of three!"

"Go…"

"One!"

"I can't."

"Two!"

"Fetch, please…"

"Three!"

With a loud bang, and the sound of a bullet flying through the air, it was done. Fetch looked down and saw a bullet hole in Delsin's head. His powers had no time to heal and he was killed instantly. Fetch thought her heart couldn't shatter any further. Tears flooded her eyes as she looked at the one she loved, at the one who loved her. Suddenly, she was greeted by the same rage she was familiar with. Her body began to glow a bright purple.

"She's a bio-terrorist! Open fire!"

Every single soldier released a barrage of bullets at Fetch. She was able to take the majority of them as she prepared for a large energy burst. Before she could release it though, she was hit in vital areas and she collapsed on top of Delsin.

"No!" Sam shouted, causing the soldiers to turn around with their weapons drawn. In a single movement, Eugene grabbed Sam and shot into the air, taking on his angel form as he did. The two sped away even before the helicopters had a chance to process what was happening and they disappeared.


	17. CHAPTER 15:2 - First Light

**A/N - I'm not dead! Yay! Sorry I haven't posted anything, I've been busy with finals and projects, but now I'm back... kinda. I had little time between wrapping up school and moving and I couldn't write a proper chapter. Instead I wrote an alternate ending for this story. This meant to replace Chapter 15 and the epilogue. Is this chapter necessary? No, but I realized there were no choices for the readers in this book and I had this "what-if" scenario for a while. Next week, we'll see the continuation of Elder Scrolls Adventures: Argonian. Enjoy!**

"Dead?"

"From that height, his vertebrae would've shattered and his spinal cord would've been severed," Sam explained quietly.

Fetch kneeled on the ground as tears flooded her eyes. Around them, the others held their heads low and Eugene's eyes began leaking as well, tears rolling down his cheek.

"No! No, you're not dead! You can't be!" Fetch shouted.

"Fetch…" Sam began while standing back up, "I'm sorry…"

"No!" she shouted again while holding his face, "You… you need to come back! Please!"

Everyone else watched as Fetch grieved.

"You're an idiot," she whispered between shallow breaths, "I told you… I told you we needed to stop. Why? Why didn't you listen to me?"

Sam, his attention drawn towards an explosion in the distance, remembered they had a job to do.

"We need to stop her," he spoke, looking at Bentley. Before taking a second to look at Delsin, he nodded in agreement. Sam then looked at Fetch and noticed that she was in no state to fight.

"Eugene, Jessica, you can't get anywhere near Penelope without putting yourselves in danger. That doesn't mean we can't help get everyone else to safety."

"What about Fetch?" Jessica asked.

"Give her some time. Right now, it's just you guys. You two are the only ones with powers who could help."

"We'll try," Eugene stated, wiping away tears

"That's all I need. Let's go."

And they took off with Sam taking the lead. Bentley made one final look at Delsin and Fetch as the others ran ahead. He sighed, feeling slightly responsible. He understood what he had to do and ran after them. Eventually, they caught up to Penelope as she continued her rampage.

"What's the plan?" Jessica asked.

"We need to keep her distracted while we get everyone else out of here," Sam reminded, "Eugene, how many angels can you create?"

"Not enough."

"You're our heavy hitter and we don't need to worry about hiding right now. Create as many angels as you can and keep her distracted as they get everyone else out of here."

Eugene nodded.

"Jessica, you're our last hope. I need you to get as close as you can get while she's distracted and—"

"What?! You expect me to try to calm her down? She'll kill me!"

"I know you're scared, but we need you."

"I… I can't… I can't do it!"

"You're our only chance at stopping her!"

"No!"

"Delsin's dead! So are Mark, Lynne, and Sarah!" he shouted while grabbing her by the shoulders.

"What? Did Celia—"

"Yes! Because you were too scared to help!"

"Sam," Bentley spoke.

"Do you really want their blood on your hands?" Sam continued.

"I'll go."

Sam turned to look at Bentley, his statement settling in

"What?"

"Give me one more chance… to make things right."

Meanwhile

Fetch refused to move from Delsin's side. She did nothing but cry into his chest and think of what she could've done differently. Her biggest fear had come true. After losing her brother, she tried her hardest to not create attachments to anybody. But Delsin came along and she opened her heart to him, only to have it be shattered once again. This time was different though. When Brent died, she was filled with anger, rage, and a burning desire to kill the one ultimately responsible. She didn't feel any of that this time. She only felt pain and despair. She didn't have the same hatred towards Penelope that she had towards Shane.

When she lifted her tear-ridden face from Delsin, she looked at the pale face she'd come to care about, the same face she'd come to love. He was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it. She combed her hand over his forehead, wiping the hair away from his eyes. Just as she found herself beginning to calm down, she broke down in tears again, unable to contain the veritable flood erupting from her eyes. She then looked up towards where the others ran off to, knowing that she _had_ to help them. But she couldn't. She couldn't move. As her grieving continued, a red light appeared behind her, causing Fetch to wipe away her tears and look behind her. Her heart sank.

She saw John White walking towards her and she immediately stood up and held a neon-cloaked fist at him. He stopped and Fetch had a good look at him. In a word, he looked tired.

"What do you want?" Fetch asked through tears.

"I can help him," he replied.

Angels swarmed the local area as they were instructed to carry citizens to safety. Eugene was able to create a small army, but it wouldn't be enough to grab everybody. When the last of the angels were digitally constructed, Eugene took a second to catch his breath. He would need to rest before he could take on his angel form. It was Bentley's turn. He had one last chance. With a quick inhale and a quicker exhale, he made a dash for Penelope and called out to her when he got close enough, with his hands behind his back. When he got to her, she was draining the electricity from a radio tower.

"Penelope!"

She looked down to the one calling her name. When she saw Bentley, she lowered herself until she was back on the ground.

"Bentley…"

"Penelope, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm… better than ever."

"That… that's good. I was worried about you."

"This power… is incredible."

"Listen… I don't know how or when… but I _can_ fix this."

"Fix this?"

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"All I wanted… was you. I wanted to change, for you."

"You didn't have to. Conduit or not, I still love you. I have so many regrets, but you're not one of them."

She wanted to put her hands to his cheeks but stopped short, knowing that she would hurt him otherwise.

"I can't live without you," he added

She leaned in closer and right to his ear.

"Then why are you trying to kill me?"

She created a cloud of static and Bentley yelped in pain as he dropped what he was holding behind him: a 9mm pistol, now smoldering. Bentley gulped. She then firmly planted her hands to his cheeks and kissed him, all the while sending an electrical current through his body. She then pulled back and looked him in the eye.

"Good bye… Bentley."

She amped up the current and Bentley disintegrated, transforming into a pile of ash that blew away in the wind. From a distance, Sam watched the whole thing unfold, and he fell to his knees. Eugene on the other hand found an unknown source of adrenaline coursing through his body and he shot himself into the air and assumed his angel form. He projected a beam of light at Penelope, and she found herself being pushed back by the force of it. She soon countered by deflecting his attack with her own, creating a beam of lightning the held Eugene's at bay. The two were at a stalemate.

"You can't do anything!" Fetch snapped at John, before letting her voice drop slightly, "He's gone…"

"No… he's alive. I can feel it."

"Feel it?"

"His heart is weak but," he began while casting a red glow over Delsin, creating an x-ray, "It still beats."

When Fetch looked, her own heart skipped a beat. Delsin's was pulsating, even if it was slightly so. The x-ray vanished and she looked back at John.

"Can you really bring him back?"

"Yes… but I will be consumed in the process," he explained.

"And you're okay with that?" Fetch asked, wiping away the tears.

"I'm… so tired. I had my mission years ago and it's over. All I wanted… was to cure the Plague… and now that's done."

She looked at Delsin. She ran her fingers through his hair as she stared at his blank face.

"No… Delsin's gone," she said, her despair turning into a familiar pent-up rage, "Give _me_ your power."

Without hesitation John held out his arms and his body began to glow. As it did, red static arced from him to Fetch and she immediately began to feel the effects. The pace picked up and Fetch started to levitate. The small sparks turned into a full-on energy wave that transferred between the two of them. The wave grew brighter and turned into a darker purple, all the while, John began to fade away. Despite the pain Fetch was in, she didn't scream. She didn't so much as mutter a thing. Moments later, John had completely dissolved and the transfer was complete.

She found herself once again on the ground and she examined her body. It was encompassed in a purple-ish hue. She flexed her fingers and they teemed with energy. She held her hand open and a mini singularity sat peacefully. She then closed her fist and it disappeared. She then looked over at Delsin on the ground.

"She'll pay for what she did to you. They'll all pay."

She then shot up into the air using her powers and scanned for Penelope. She found her locked in combat with Eugene. With her target in sight, she surged forward in a bright purple light. She instantaneously appeared in front of Penelope and tackled her to the ground. When the two hit the earth, a large purple shockwave erupted, throwing Eugene out of the sky and Sam and Jessica off their feet. Eugene was forced out of his angel form from exhaustion and he, Jessica, and Sam were left unconscious.

At the center, moments after the collision, Fetch stood over Penelope. She said nothing as Penelope looked up to her attacker.

"So… you _did_ love him," she stated mockingly.

Fetch put both of her fists together, which fused into a purple orb, and threw them towards her. Before she could strike, Penelope launched a bolt of lightning that threw Fetch back into a barely-standing building. Penelope then stood up and hovered in the air towards Fetch. As she did, Fetch flew at her, nearly supersonic. However, Penelope dissolved into a cloud of static before Fetch could hit her and she stopped, suspended in the air by her neon powers.

Penelope reformed behind her and sent another bolt of lightning hurdling her way. The resulting blast threw her off balance and she swiped behind her with a neon blade. Her swing hit electrified air as Penelope dissipated and reformed behind Fetch again to repeat her attack. Fetch swiped again but missed once more. With each failed strike, Fetch grew more and more irritated, until she eventually caught up to her. Fetch outmaneuvered her and grabbed hold of her hand. She then flung the opposing conduit towards the same building she struck. Penelope reacted quickly enough and dispersed before hitting the building. She then reformed in front of the building.

"Your boyfriend couldn't stop me with all of his powers… what makes you think you have a chance?!" she challenged.

"He held back," Fetch said calmly, "He was afraid of losing what he loved if he let go. But now that he's gone…"

A purple orb formed in her hand.

" _I_ have nothing to lose."

She then tossed the orb and a singularity formed right in front of her. Penelope attempted to escape by dissipating, but the singularity was disrupting her ability to transform and kept her trapped. Fetch created two more singularities, one in each hand, and tossed both of them into the mix. All three spun together, quickly drawing vehicles and rubble into their trap. She then threw two more into the fray and two more after those. A total of seven singularities worked together to assimilate anything and everything in the immediate area. In the center, Penelope stood trapped, being torn apart at the molecular level. Fetch created two more and threw those into the group. Then, with all her concentration, Fetch worked and combine all nine into a single singularity.

Entire buildings were being torn from their foundations and anyone unlucky enough to still be in the area were sucked in and immediately torn apart, including Sam, Jessica, and Eugene. But she didn't care. All she wanted was to see Penelope suffer for what she did, for taking away what she loved most. With a final flex of her hand, she formed one more singularity and flung it at the mass of destruction. It served as a catalyst and the world was immediately bathed in white.

 _As a little girl, my parents always promised that I would do amazing things. But that was just the same lie that all parents told their children. They never cared about me, or my brother. There were only two people in the whole world that made me feel special… and they were both taken from me. The world's a bitch. It picked on me and kicked me down more times than I could remember. But when life fights… you… fight… back. The entire city was destroyed, and with it… any chance of peace between humans and conduits. That's what the world believes. But only I know the truth: peace died… with Delsin._

 _With John's powers I flew across each continent and let them know who was in charge, conduits and humans alike. Nobody could stop me. Even Celia tried. But I put that bitch in a grave, beheaded by something much more powerful than paper: light. Within weeks, I had people on their knees before me. I was tired by being kicked around by the rest of the world. It's time they had their turn on the ground. It's about time… the world saw some light._


	18. EPILOGUE

**A/N - Here it is. Super short, I know. That's why I decided to post it early. I'm going to try my hardest to make my chapters longer with the exception of prologues and epilogues. Thank you everybody for sticking through to the end. If you haven't already, please vote in the pole on my bio page to help me decide what story to write next. I hope you guys enjoy!**

 _"_ _We're all monsters…" Those words never left me. It's only now though, that I understand who the monsters are. They're not just conduits. ALL of us… are monsters. But conduits? Conduits have control. Humans let fear run their lives day in and day out. As a result, actions are made before the decision can take place. We think clearly, because we don't let a petty thing like fear get in our way. Delsin was a perfect example._

 _His death came as a surprise to everyone… including me. He was so powerful, and with John's power, he was unstoppable. However, he turned out to be just as weak as Augustine. The people lashed out at the United States government. Conduits and conduit supporters alike started protesting across the country. It started in Seattle, and slowly spread eastward, like a plague. Soon enough, peaceful protests turned into violent revolts, and the people grew scared._

 _The First Sons was eventually dissolved, and the conduits that lived there were once again free to do as they wish. Their leader, Alex Cooper, went into hiding, no doubt planning on what to do next. Sam and Eugene also went into hiding after Delsin's execution. Ashton and Sebastian were transferred over to new custody, where they would be put to work. I don't feel comfortable putting conduits' lives into the hands of a human, but it had to be done, to get to Augustine. As for me… I continue the fight. They declared war against us, and it's my job to do whatever it takes, to ensure we win this war._

 _Augustine is gone. Cole is gone. Delsin… is gone. They had all failed to prevent the inevitable. Now it's up to me. The flames of war are upon us… and Delsin… was the spark._


	19. Special Thanks

**Special Thanks**

If you submitted a character through "OC Emergency" or PM and was featured in this story it will be listed here. Authors will be included with the character below. I wish to thank you all for submitting your entries. NOTE: Characters are listed in order of appearance.

Author – Character

Deathstrider777 – Ashton Pryce

werewolf35 – Sebastian Wong

Tjfanfics99 - TJ

The Crystal Brick - Troy Haven

Lightsinthesky - Charlie Patch

CrazyAwesomeZebra – Katherine Jennings

SuperLombax – Mark Blade

Gotta get lucky - Naomi Stung

rmarcano321 - Sarah Skygge

Derekjay2000 - Lynne "September" Keeleigh Hooper

P.S. If you your pen name differs from what is listed above, please PM me and I will fix it ASAP.


End file.
